Refined

Have you ever driven in the heat of summer in a car with broken AC?

If you have, you know my pain. I remember rolling through the streets of LA in college in my 1993 Toyota Camry. Due to the broken AC AND broken driver’s window, I wasn’t able to enjoy the picturesque 90 degree weather. The image of me happily cruising through the city, wind blowing through my hair, was replaced with a very sweaty, agitated reality.

So often the overwhelming dry heat of Southern California summers can feel suffocating. While some can tolerate it more than others, we all have an innate opposition to rising temperatures. Our bodies crave homeostasis, comfortability, normalcy.

Trials in life can leave us feeling like we’re trapped in a hot car. When the temperature dial on life gets turned up we’re left sweating, wishing for normalcy and comfortability. We don’t want to bear the fiery reality of change, suffering, or heartache.

But what if the increased heat was actually an opportunity to be refined?

Maverick City Music shares these lyrics in their song “Refiner,”

I wanna be tried by fire

Purified

You take whatever you desire

Lord here's my life

What if we had a desire for the fire and heat of life? Perhaps we could embrace the experiences and turmoil that usually pushes the thermostat up, when we realize those experiences are shaping us into something better. Of course it will be uncomfortable, but we never know how God will use our suffering to shape our future. We can be confident that he is working out our trials and our triumphs.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

- Romans 8:28

Like precious metals, God uses the heat and fire that we encounter to turn us into something beautiful.

What would it look like in your life to sing those lyrics above? Do you have a desire to be tried by the fire?

Today, take some time with the Lord and reflect on the past. When was a time where he brought you out of the fire? Did you see refinement through that process? How can you use that experience as you walk into future unknowns?

May we rest in the truth that He is working things out for our good, and He will rescue us from the broken AC experiences every time.

Cristina Schmitter

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