Refined Silver

What does worship really mean?

I've grown up looking at worship as being moved by the Spirit to raise your hands while the praise band sings or closing your eyes and having an intimate moment with God. But if that were the only way, then we couldn't worship when we aren't in that wonderful revival mode.

I was reminded recently that we can honor God just as well by what we do when we DON'T want to praise Him. Let's say we're mad at Him...He doesn't want us to fake a good time while the music plays at church or pretend like we never stray from Him. Just like we all get mad at our closest friends at times, we all get mad at God sometimes. But as our close friendships prove, it's how we react that matters...if we react correctly, we come out stronger and closer to Him. He knows very well that we are not perfect children and He doesn't want us to pretend that we are. He doesn't expect us to be on a spiritual high for our entire lives. In fact, He doesn't want us to be. He sends fire to make us stronger. This doesn't mean we should take a break from worshiping God. This is where worship may even be the strongest, depending on how we react.

In her book "As Silver Refined," Kay Arthur describes how silver goes from being impure to pure, dirty to spotless, invaluable to precious. And the process always includes fire...lots and lots of fire.

The refiner sets the silver in his crucible and the crucible in the fire. And there he waits... and waits... and waits... and then the silver starts melting and as it melts, the impurities which are still solid rise to the top. The refiner scrapes off the impurities, leaving the silver to continue melting, the impurities to keep escaping, as he continues to scrape off the ugliness which was once embedded in the silver. He takes the crucible out of the fire for a little while and then puts it back in for the silver to melt yet again. As more and more impurities are taken out of the silver, the refiner's reflection in the silver becomes clearer and clearer.

Kay Arthur says that we are the melting silver. Our Refiner puts us in the fire on purpose and yes, it hurts, but it makes us more beautiful, more reflective of Him, and the best part is...He never leaves our side. He is there protecting us the whole time, making sure the fire doesn't get too hot for us to handle.

Do you want something to look forward to? One day we will be completely refined, beautiful, finished products of silver that reflect God's face more purely than ever. We will be done with the fire. There will be no more impurities in us and no more chances for us to fail. This day is looking more and more beautiful the older I get and the more impurities I discover. But what I keep forgetting is that God sees us as pure now. When He looks at us, He sees perfection, holiness, and righteousness even though He hasn't finished sifting out our impurities.