Any precious metal like silver or gold has to go through a refining process once it is mined. For silver, it has to be put in the fire to remove all of the dross. The silversmith sticks the silver still ensconced within rocks into a fire. The silver will melt, and it becomes easy to remove the rocks. From there, the silversmith will turn the heat up and put the silver back into the furnace. Once the silver gets to the point of boiling, the silversmith will pull it out. On top of the silver will be a layer of film called “crud.” He will remove all of the crud until he can see the reflection of his face in the silver. Today, the Psalmist uses this process to tell us that we are refined like silver.
PSALMS 66:10
“For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined.”
In the Image of Christ
Much like silver, God puts us through a refining process. Bible scholars call it sanctification. It is the process of removing the remnants of the world and transforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. When God sees something in our lives that needs to be changed, He will turn up the heat. The Israelites were used to feeling the heat of being refined.
Testing the Work
There is another reason that we will experience the heat being turned up. God will want to test the work He has done and see if it is true. The Psalmist says, “For you have tried us, O God.” That is the same thing as testing—it is looking to see if all the work that has been done will stand the test of time.
Refined Like Silver
Don’t despise the testing of the Lord. Even if it feels like you can’t stand the heat, trust God because He knows what He is doing. The harder it gets, the more you need to lean into Him because once it is done, He will be able to look at you and see the reflection of Himself.