A friend of mine found this poem and posted it on her blog. This poem really encouraged me and I was able to use it in my Teapots, Teacups, & Testimonies discipleship group. May "Purifying Gold" minister to your heart and remind you of your Saviour's perfect love for you and of the necessity of trials in the life of a Christian. Though they may cause us temporary pain, trials are the necessary tools that our Master Craftsman uses to refine our character and conform us to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, turning us into precious gold.
"He sat by the fire with sevenfold heat,
As He watched by the precious ore,
And closer He bent with a searching gaze
As He heated it more and more.
"He knew He had ore that could stand the test,
And He wanted the finest gold
To mould as a crown for the King to wear,
Set with gems with price untold.
"So He laid our gold in the burning fire.
Tho’ we fain would have said to Him, “Nay,”
And He watched the dross that we had not seen,
And it melted and passed away.
"And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright,
But our eyes were so dim with tears,
We saw but the fire—not the Master’s hand,
And questioned it with anxious fears.
"Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow,
As it mirrored a Form above,
That bent o’er the fire, tho’ unseen by us,
With a look of ineffable love.
"Can we think that it pleases His loving heart
To cause us a moment’s pain?
Ah, no! But He saw through the present cross
The bliss of eternal gain.
"So He waited there with a watchful eye,
With a love that is strong and sure,
And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat,
Than was needed to make it pure."
~Unknown~
"Behold, I go forward, but He is not there;
and backward, but I cannot perceive Him:
On the left hand, where He doth work, but I cannot behold Him:
He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see Him:
But He knoweth the way that I take:
when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as GOLD."
Job 23:8-10
