Coming Through As Gold
They say that what ever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
That when you go through hardship, suffering, trial and fire, you can come out bitter or better, that the fire, it purifies.
That gold, when it is put into the furnace, put under fire, it gives up its impurities, these other things inside of it, they rise to the surface to be skimmed off, leaving behind only the gold.
In the Christian life, the heat of battle can purify us.
In the midst of the hardest battles we are tested. We are seen for what we are, all the impurity rising like so much waste coming from hidden places.
The battle tests our hearts. The battle reveals what we are made of. And when we see it, it provides the opportunity to be purged of what is hindering, to shed our dead weight and become all that we need to be to fight the good fight of faith.
We studied American history this year in our homeschool, and sometime in the thaw of winter into spring we studied the Winter of Valley Forge. We read about how the American troops were losing to the British until that winter. The troops were not adequately supplied for the winter. They didn’t have proper shelters, they didn’t have food, they didn’t have uniforms or shoes and they were freezing to death and starving. And in the midst of all this suffering a famous general came to teach this raggedy and battered army what is means to be a disciplined and ready fighting machine. The men hated it. They hated the drilling and the discipline. They hated the constant preparation. They were miserable before but now they were angry too, standing out in the snow, shoeless, drilling, learning how to fight together and listen to commands. But then something happened. The men began to realize this suffering was changing them. It was making them better soldiers. It was making them ready for bigger battles. It was making them ready to win the war.
Historians say that without the winter at Valley Forge the Americans would never have won the war for their independence. It was the pivotal moment when everything changed. It was the moment that those soldiers became what they were always intended to be. They came out of that winter of suffering as winners.
On a balmy day in spring I say to my teenage son, that this, this has been my winter of Valley Forge. Unprecedented suffering, hardship, trial, pain. I learned spiritual discipline because without it I wouldn’t have survived. I learned to lean in to Jesus closer, obey His orders faster, hold tight to the truth of the Word of God with a death grip. and pray like my life depended on it.
The Apostle Paul tells us that the Christian life is a battle and we are to fight like soldiers ready to win. He tells us to endure suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus:
“Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these things to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please their commanding officer who enlisted them. “ 2 Timothy 2:1-4.
What about you? Are you going through suffering, dear one? Be strong in the grace of God that is ours in Christ Jesus. Let the work of Christ through suffering purify you, make you stronger, more disciplined, ready to fight and win the eternal battles through the power of God’s Spirit. Endure and be faithful because we do it to please our Commanding Officer, because we want to make our Heavenly Daddy proud. Let suffering finish its work so that you will become all that you were intended to be.
We endure so that we will come out of the fire of battle as gold,
pure gold.
That when you go through hardship, suffering, trial and fire, you can come out bitter or better, that the fire, it purifies.
That gold, when it is put into the furnace, put under fire, it gives up its impurities, these other things inside of it, they rise to the surface to be skimmed off, leaving behind only the gold.
In the Christian life, the heat of battle can purify us.
In the midst of the hardest battles we are tested. We are seen for what we are, all the impurity rising like so much waste coming from hidden places.
The battle tests our hearts. The battle reveals what we are made of. And when we see it, it provides the opportunity to be purged of what is hindering, to shed our dead weight and become all that we need to be to fight the good fight of faith.
We studied American history this year in our homeschool, and sometime in the thaw of winter into spring we studied the Winter of Valley Forge. We read about how the American troops were losing to the British until that winter. The troops were not adequately supplied for the winter. They didn’t have proper shelters, they didn’t have food, they didn’t have uniforms or shoes and they were freezing to death and starving. And in the midst of all this suffering a famous general came to teach this raggedy and battered army what is means to be a disciplined and ready fighting machine. The men hated it. They hated the drilling and the discipline. They hated the constant preparation. They were miserable before but now they were angry too, standing out in the snow, shoeless, drilling, learning how to fight together and listen to commands. But then something happened. The men began to realize this suffering was changing them. It was making them better soldiers. It was making them ready for bigger battles. It was making them ready to win the war.
Historians say that without the winter at Valley Forge the Americans would never have won the war for their independence. It was the pivotal moment when everything changed. It was the moment that those soldiers became what they were always intended to be. They came out of that winter of suffering as winners.
On a balmy day in spring I say to my teenage son, that this, this has been my winter of Valley Forge. Unprecedented suffering, hardship, trial, pain. I learned spiritual discipline because without it I wouldn’t have survived. I learned to lean in to Jesus closer, obey His orders faster, hold tight to the truth of the Word of God with a death grip. and pray like my life depended on it.
The Apostle Paul tells us that the Christian life is a battle and we are to fight like soldiers ready to win. He tells us to endure suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus:
“Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these things to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please their commanding officer who enlisted them. “ 2 Timothy 2:1-4.
What about you? Are you going through suffering, dear one? Be strong in the grace of God that is ours in Christ Jesus. Let the work of Christ through suffering purify you, make you stronger, more disciplined, ready to fight and win the eternal battles through the power of God’s Spirit. Endure and be faithful because we do it to please our Commanding Officer, because we want to make our Heavenly Daddy proud. Let suffering finish its work so that you will become all that you were intended to be.
We endure so that we will come out of the fire of battle as gold,
pure gold.
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