This week I want to share a thought from my good friend Alyx’s blog, who is on a missionary trip with World Race. She was sharing how the process of fire refines gold, removing all the foreign and impure material from the gold, but the gold itself doesn’t lose any value.  Though it hurts and is uncomfortable to be confronted that we need to change, we need to “embrace the flames” and allow Jesus to melt away the impurities.

This really made me think about the fact that though the process of God’s refining may be difficult at times it is not to de-value us but to bring us back to the value He placed in us at the beginning of Creation.  As I studied this week I came across this Scripture in Isaiah.

Isaiah 1:25 – I will turn My hand against you and thoroughly purge away your dross, and take away all your alloy.

At first this verse somewhat puzzled me stating that God would turn His hand against us when other Scriptures clearly state that He is for us.  (Romans 8:31)  Also, if God was against us He would not have sent Jesus to save us (John 3:16-17)   So, I searched further for more understanding.

The word against, (as with most words, has two meanings): an opposition to something  but the dictionary also gives the definition “as defense from”.  So now this Scripture make better sense to me.  God is against the sin that holds us captive and He turns His hand to it defending us; we couldn’t help ourselves so He intervened by sending Jesus to redeem us.

The word thoroughly has several meanings too: complete, very careful, painstaking, having full mastery.  Purge means to cleanse or purify.  Dross is waste matter, refuse (unacceptable or rejected).  Alloy is an admixture that lessens value.  An admixture is something added in mixing.

Now think back to when God formed mankind; we were made in His Image, which means we (mankind) had His nature in us which made us pure, righteous, holy and acceptable.  When Adam sinned by disobedience, the sin nature of Satan was added into us (the alloy) and made us unacceptable, unholy and unable to come into the presence of God, as Adam did before he sinned.

So what does all this mean to us?  It means that God so loved us that He thoroughly, completely, and having full mastery, executed the plan of Salvation through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection; cleansing us from all that had made us unacceptable and He made us acceptable in our beloved Savior, Jesus. (Ephesians 1:6)

So now I read Isaiah 1:25 as, “God turns His hand in defense of me with the Blood of Jesus which completely cleanses and purifies me from all the sinful wasteful impurities that the devil added.  In Christ I am made righteous with the Blood of Jesus”.  If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior then He has made you righteous too.  It’s that simple.  This gift of redemption is available to all and is a gift of God.  (Ephesians 2:8)

The “refining” is the process of change that we go through as we renew our mind to the Word of God and conform our thinking, habits, and words to agree with what God says we are to be.  (Romans 12:2, Proverbs 16:2, Colossians 3:2, and 10)

So when we ask God to search our heart and show us anything that is displeasing to him, let’s be quick to repent, and quick to correct our thinking, motives, actions, and words.  (Psalm 139:23-24)  As we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and submit to His Word, we will walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increase in the knowledge of God, who has called us unto His kingdom and glory.  (Matthew 6:33, Colossians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 2:12)