Vibrating beneath my hands, the power sander spewed a cloud of fine dust as I ran it over the wood. The dresser had an ugly, opaque finish and I was curious to see the quality of the wood hidden beneath it. To my delight, the sanding revealed pure, unblemished maple with a beautiful grain that far exceeded my expectations.
I was reminded of that dresser recently as I read the apostle Peter’s teaching about the way God refines our faith:
“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” (1 Peter 1:6-7, NLT)
Like using a sander on wood, trials refine our faith. They remove the ugly layers of protection we often put on ourselves over time. The faith was always there, but trials draw it to the forefront of our lives.
Oftentimes when we study a passage like this one, we envision major “life event” sort of trials. A cancer diagnosis. The death of a family member. The loss of a job. An ugly divorce. A traumatic event that derails plans and dreams.
While those life-altering trials often refine our faith, smaller difficulties can produce the same results, if we let them. A challenging person or situation becomes spiritual sandpaper in the hands of God.
A few years ago my family experienced a relentless chain of hard circumstances that led us to deeper intimacy with Jesus and profound spiritual growth. Ironically, at the center of many uncontrollable difficulties was a situation that we’d brought on ourselves: a home remodel.
With every annoyance we experienced, from doing laundry on our back patio to living without a kitchen for seven months to working with an unreliable contractor, we learned we had a choice. We could wallow in self-pity and bitterness or we could let God refine us through the process.
The Bible makes many references to God as a refiner. Psalm 66:10 states it clearly. “For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.” God uses people and situations to cleanse us from impurities, to perfect us and to make us look more like Jesus in our actions and attitudes.
In the book of Zechariah God speaks again about refinement. “I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.'” (Zechariah 13:9b)
God revealed many ugly impurities in me that needed to be surrendered to Him throughout our remodel. And, as painful as it was, I chose to let Him do His refining work in me. He uncovered my lack of patience and my craving for control. He taught me to wait and watch for His answers in His timing. Submitting to that process transformed me in ways I never would have expected.
Our struggles and challenges, both large and small, are an amazing opportunity to uncover the faith planted deep within us. As I learned with refinishing my dresser, true beauty shows only after the messy refining process removes the ugly outer layers.
Rather than lamenting the difficult things we must endure, we can rejoice knowing that they are revealing a genuine and lasting faith that is more valuable than anything this world could offer.
Click on the link to enjoy Francesca Battistelli’s song “This is the Stuff.” It’s a fun song with great encouragement to let God give us perspective when we face trials, both large and small.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H73AyGZvwEA
Inspired by Week 2 in 1 Peter: A Living Hope in Christ, by Jen Wilkin, Lifeway 2015.