Refiner's Fire

While reading "Streams in the Desert" today, I was reminded of God's refining fire. Today's reading was on this very subject. The writer shared how steel is tested to find it's breaking point. ""Some pieces had been twisted until they broke and then labeled with the level of pressure they could withstand. Some had been stretched to their breaking point, with their level of strength also noted. Others had been crushed to the crushing point and measured. Because of the testing, the manager of the mill knew exactly how much stress and strain each piece could endure if it was to be used to build a ship, building, or bridge." To be tested and know that we're going to be able to withstand the pressures and to be used of our God to BUILD.
I'm thankful for all of this around us. Dan, Jody, Judy, ..all of it.
"Many of us need no other argument than our own experiences to PROVE that suffering is indeed God's testing room of faith. It is easy for us to theorize about faith, but God often puts us into His crucible of affliction to test the purity of our gold and to separate the dross from the metal. How happy we are if the hurricanes that blow across life's raging sea have the effect of making Jesus more precious to us! It is better to weather the storm with Christ than to sail smooth waters without Him". Praise my Savior and Lord, the Manager of the mill!
Dan has a few well-deserved days of rest from chemo. As expected, it's made him feel pretty lousy. Chemotherapy is designed to attack and kill rapid-dividing cells in the body. These include gastro-intestinal, blood cells, and hair follicle cells. Join us as we pray over his systems and organs for protection from lasting damage and side effects.