Through the Fires of Refinement

There's Purpose Behind Every Trial We Face

If life was a “one-and-done” process for transformation, I’d have achieved perfection years ago. But here we are, still suffering in the furnace, facing difficult challenges. I used to think surviving one hard season meant I’d “levelled up” for good, then life gently handed me another even harder one. And then another. And another. Let’s discuss the refinement process.

In the old days, long before modern technology and chemical processes, refining gold was an art form requiring patience, persistence and repetition. Goldsmiths would heat the raw metal “ore” until it melted and watch as the impurities - slag (12-year-old me chuckled) - rose to the top to be skimmed away.

I used to think that was it, that what they were left with was gold. A one-time process. I thought wrong. And I only found out this year. After skimming the slag (🤭) away, they’d let the metal cool…and then do the whole process over again. Sometimes over and over again. They did it as many times as it took to get rid of all impurities, so they’re left with pure gold.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.

- Helen Keller

That’s what separated the master refiners from the rest: they understood that one fire wasn’t enough. Refinement requires multiple heatings, with each cycle revealing new layers of impurity that the previous fire missed. The refiner would heat, skim, cool, examine, and repeat. No single heating, no matter how intense, could produce the level of purity required.

There were also several repercussions for using gold that hadn’t been refined enough, but there are two I’d like to highlight. Gold with too many impurities may have weighed the same as pure gold, but was worth less, so it didn’t go as far. Alongside it being worth less, it damaged the reputation (name) of the refiner, as they were associated with impure gold.

In addition to this, impure gold is harder and more brittle due to its composition with other metals, limiting its usability. Impure gold is weaker, so it can’t be used for the same purposes as pure gold. The number of fires wasn’t predetermined; it was dictated by the amount of impurities in the ore. The process is complete only when the refiner can see their reflection in the melted gold.

In much the same way, we are not refined by a single spark or fire, we require multiple until we reflect God. It was a bit of a penny drop moment for me; every single challenge we face brings something out of us to the surface. And we go through the cycle repeatedly, especially when we don’t allow the impurities to be removed.

I used to say we go through the same thing over and over again because there’s a lesson we’re refusing to learn, but now I believe this to be partially true. Like the master refiner, God knows there are more impurities hidden beneath the surface. He knows we need more than one fire to become the most authentic version of ourselves; to become who He created us to be.

Every trial and challenging circumstance we face is a pass through the Refiner’s fire, bringing us closer to the purity of character, clarity of purpose and level of faith reflecting His image. Even our faith gets tested for purity. 1 Peter 1:6-7 (NIV) tells us:

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

This revelation called for a slight tweak to my mindset towards challenging circumstances. They’re not always punishment. They’re not always a result of something I did (or didn’t do). They’re about preparation. Every trial is an opportunity for purification. I don’t know how many I will need, but I have to go through as many as I have to go through, despite how painful they are.

Now I know that every fire, every storm, every form of pressure, every loss, failure, betrayal is a fire refining me and removing impurities along the way. Now I know that resisting the heat is counterproductive; rather, we need to lean into it and trust the process. We need to trust the Refiner and let the fire do its work.

If you’re to take a key message away from this newsletter, it’s this:

To get to the purest gold, the metal has to repeatedly endure the fire. Don’t fear the fire; see life’s challenges as purification and opportunities to grow. The fire is necessary to reveal and remove impurities hindering us from becoming who we are meant to be.

The number of fires is unknown, and so is the length of time we’ll spend in the fire. Ultimately though, they’re irrelevant. What really matters is emerging from each one a more refined version of ourselves. If we hang on to the impurities, i.e. we don’t let go of the parts of our character that are not aligned to the fruits of the spirit, we’re only delaying the refinement process.

Don’t fear the fire!

As always, make a decision that future you will be grateful for.

Have a great week!

CT