We can use a cloth to wipe the dust off of gold, but before that gold can ever be used it, must be refined. Refining go,d is the process of heating the gold up to a point that all the impurities in the gold are bubbled to the top. The gold is melted by fire and all the tarnish and pollution rises and it is skimmed off the top.
Our lives are compared to this process. When we face struggles, God has us in the fire to heat us up, digging deep in our lives to eliminate the pollution in our hearts. his intention is not to hurt us, rather help us grow into beautiful reflections of the life of His Son.
“He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.”
Malachi 3:3 CSB
Those with little to no belief in God look at this world and exclaim, this world is out of control. They find themselves without a source of strength or encouragement when their world collapses. Family heartache, financial problems, and national tragedies, are things we have all witnessed to a certain degree. In the face of struggle, pain, and uncertainty, how do we know God is in control?
Genesis is our source of comfort. This book of the Bible powerfully reveals God’s complete control from beginning to end. We get to see God’s power in making something from nothing. We see God providing a way for us to conquer sin and death and achieve victory through Christ, despite sin having entered the world. We see Him destroy humanity and save one family to repopulate the earth.
We see throughout all of Genesis a pattern. God plans to do something, despite human unfaithfulness, and His perfect will is accomplished. This is the case throughout all of scripture. God is in control! It does not matter the turmoil, pain, questions, sufferings, or selfishness, He remains in control.
He promises to use adversity we face to transform us into a new creation. Every bit of adversity that I have faced over this last year and a half, God was bubbling something up about me. It could have been doubt, fear, disbelief, a behavior that was unrighteous, or unforgiveness. When we wrap our heart around God’s plan to refine us is meant to change us, He changes our perspective to meet adversity head. Instead of looking at the circumstances, we must look up. He is showing something about us that is not right and giving us the opportunity to seek Him and in obedience respond.
Principle 1: Living God’s Way
Principle 2: Surrender: The Starting Point
Principle 3: Grace: Why we need it
Principle 4: Connection with God: The most effective way to live
Principle 5: Trust: Faith in Action
Principle 6: Obedience: It always brings a blessing
Principle 7: God’s Will: It’s worth the wait
Principle 8: Adversity: He refines us by fire
Principle 9: Prayer: It’s War on the floor
Principle 10: The Bible: Our sourcebook for life
It Starts Small 
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