Why God Permits Trials

Have you ever been in a place where you are sick and tired of hearing things like “trials come to make you strong,” “it’s all working out for your good,” or “God allows trials to refine you?”  Maybe you’ve heard these clichés too many times before and they haven’t changed the reality of your situation.  The reality that trials hurt, can be devastating, and can burn like fire.  Needless to say, when we are in the furnace of affliction it’s hard to look past the flames and realize their benefits.

Well, I’ve been there a time or two so I know how you feel.  Yet, through having experienced my own fair share of trials I’ve discovered that those old clichés are actually precious gems of truth.  Despite the pain of our trials God is in fact making us stronger, working things out for our good, and refining us.  There is a great purpose for our trials and as God has been teaching me more and more about this topic.  I received my great clarity about the subject when He taught me about dross.

Dross Defined

Dross is something that is regarded as worthless and of no value.  It is the substance that taints a precious metal before it is purified.  It is rubbish, foreign matter, or mineral waste.  It is the scum that prevents silver, gold, or any other precious metal from shining forth in the beauty of its pureness.  It is something that must be removed for a metal like to have any value.

In ancient days the most effective way of removing dross was by placing the metal in a crucible and subjecting it to high heat.  The high heat removed the impurities.  Once the dross was removed the refiner was then able to see His reflection in the metal.  This was an indication that the metal was purified.

Dealing with the Dross in Our Lives

As you can see great lengths must be taken for the dross to be removed.  As humans we are willing to go to somewhat similar lengths when we deal with the outward dross of our lives.  When impurities physically manifest themselves in the form of acne, unwanted hair, fungus, warts, or any other icky thing that takes away from the pureness of our appearance we are willing to endure certain levels of pain.  From the sting that comes from plucking out unsightly hair all the way down to the painful aftermath of plastic surgery, we as humans are willing to go to the greatest of lengths to preserve our physical beauty, but what about when it comes to dross of our hearts, the impurities that aren’t readily recognized by our outward appearance.

If we are completely honest with ourselves the dross of sin that has tainted our souls is much uglier than any physical malady we could ever encounter. The dross of distrust, a lack of faith, worry, pride, and selfishness, just to name a few, have tainted the precious metal of our souls.  God understands that in and of ourselves we can do nothing to remove the impurities of sin from our lives, nor do we possess a strong enough desire.  So, in His wisdom He sends the fire of trials to purify us, to make us better, to make us stronger, to make us more like Him. He allows the fire of affliction, not to harm or consume us but to remove the dross so that when He looks at us He can see His reflection.  This is His sole purpose.

“Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.” Proverbs 25:4

^“And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin…” Isaiah 1:25

Silver filled with dross lacks beauty and is incapable of serving the many purposes that the refiner desires for it to fulfill.  This is no different than a life filled with the dross of sin.  It causes us to be incapable of fulfilling the great and grand purposes our refiner, God, created us to fulfill.  Therefore, we must learn to submit to the process.  We must learn to trust the refiner with our lives.  Allowing him to purge out of our characters any and every impurity as He transforms us into vessels of praise, honor, and glory!

“ Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ…” 1 Peter1:6-7

“And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.”  Malachi 3:3

 

Homework:  Have you been able to recognize God’s purification process in your life?  I know I have and I’ve been able to clearly see how God has and continues to purify the dross of distrust out of my life.  What about you?  Take some time to reflect upon the things God has taught you through past trials and write them in your journal.  You’ll be surprised how much we can benefit from simple reflection.

 Share:  Please share your thoughts and insights regarding this post by commenting below.  Also, if this post was helpful to you please share it with a friend and be sure to subscribe!  Until next time BE EXTRAORDINARY!