By Shirley Tarpley
NDG Staff Writer
This proverb explains one of God’s strangest mysteries. It is a picture of God’s formula to refine the human heart in order to bring out its finest qualities. The important leaders who make the greatest mark for the Kingdom has to experience their own trial and fire. Without it, the scum can never be removed from the human heart. Without it, the hindrances weigh us down. God understands the human heart, after all, He made it. He understands that for Christians to become all that He hopes for them, there are seasons of fire that they must endure. Joseph went through many tests. Succeeding in his test qualified him for greater responsibility, just as it will for any Christian.
The greater the use in the Kingdom of Christians, the greater is the crucible to prepare the right foundation for them. Some of God’s greatest crucibles are found in the home and workplace where Christians live every day, the person who betrays a trust or the person who falls short of our expectations.
These circumstances are a test from God for Christians to find out how they will respond, He already knows. Christians are subjected to forces that test them and this often makes them change. His grace has been provided that Christians might pass the tests that He brings before them. Should they fail a trial that is set before them, they need not fear, God’s grace is sufficient for this as well. All that is needed for Christians is to ask God for the grace to walk with Him in whatever tests He has placed before them. He is able to accomplish what He wants for them.
God has given Christians special gifts, talents, and abilities to use in His service and to pass tests set before them. Christians should ask God to stir up those gifts, talents, and abilities that He has placed in them. They should ask Him for help to see how and what they can do for Him through the power of His Holy Spirit, to accomplish His purpose and to draw people to Him to be glorified.
Christians were not made to fight the hard battles in life alone. That’s why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to live in them, to help with the trials that Christians would face. If Christians have faith and trust God, they will see that in the midst of their battles they learn to be truly effective warriors. Likewise, in the midst of living, they can learn to be an effective Christian. The Holy Spirit was sent to guide and direct Christians; to give them wisdom and strength for their journey.
When Christians rely on the Holy Spirit to guide and lead them, they reflect the Light of God. Just think about it, the moon is lovely on a clear night only because it reflects the light of the sun. It has no qualities by itself to reflect its beauty. Without the sun shining onto its surface, people would never see the moon. It would simply be a dark object in the sky. Even a diamond is designed to reflect the light to reveal its true value. The cut of a diamond determines its brilliance. There is no single measurement of a diamond that defines its cut, but rather a collection of measurements and observations that determine the relationship between a diamond’s light performance, dimensions and finish.
Jesus came to bring the light of His love and grace to each of us. However, we are born into a world dulled by the sin created by Adam and Eve that makes our lives dark until we meet Jesus.
And when Christians allow Jesus’ light to live in them His light will live amidst darkness in them. When people invite Jesus Christ to live in their heart it is as though a light is shining upon their life in order to reflect the glory of God’s Son through them. Jesus calls Christians to be a vessel to reflect the brilliant light of His love to others. The testing containers, hard trials, special gifts and the Holy Spirit were sent to help them with their purpose by bring out their finest qualities.
