Job 23:10, “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”
Gold – not only is it one of the heaviest metals on earth, it is also very beautiful and doesn’t tarnish or corrode once purified. Being soft and the most malleable and ductile of all metals, gold is used to make very fine jewelry. When gold is extracted from the earth, it always contains other unwanted elements. Because of this, gold undergoes a purification process to remove these elements to obtain pure gold.
To purify, gold undergoes several steps: melting, binding, and separating. Gold is melted at a temperature of 1103 Celsius. In binding, the impurities rise to the top. These are called Slag. In the separation process, the gold and slag are separated and usually, the gold undergoes the purification at least 3 times more before it is considered at perfection.
It is interesting that Job describes the outcome of his trials as “I will come forth as gold.” When God is done testing him, Job has the faith to know, he will come out of it looking like gold.
What is the slag in your life? What needs to be separated and removed from you? It could be your attitude or the way you treat other people. It may be an addiction or inappropriate relationship with someone. Whatever it is, God wants it out of your life.
Some of us do not understand the difference between a trial and a consequence. Usually, when you go through a trial, it is through no fault of your own. A consequence is a direct result of an action you have taken. God allows us to go through trials in order to purify us and make us like gold. We put ourselves through consequences by our own bad decisions.
James 1:4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
Trials are never easy but like Job we can rejoice that when it is over; when He is finished testing us through our trials, we will emerge stronger than ever. I want to be God’s bling, don’t you?
