He will be like a blazing fire that refines metal

Malachi 3:2

Most of us think God wants us to live in that place where all is right with our world, where there is no conflict, no sadness, and no pain. So we spend our lives fighting to stay on those mountaintops. But when we live on the mountaintops and spend the majority of our lives avoiding the things that grow us, we are missing out. God gives us opportunities to grow. He allows us to walk through the valleys, the places of darkness and struggle, in order to purify us. Whether we like to believe it or not, God’s goal for us is not increased comfort; His goal for us is exceptional character!

Refining fires are used to burn impurities out of raw metal. At extreme temperatures, the metal is melted and the impurities are separated. They rise to the top where they are skimmed off. Without this process, the metal would be weak and there would be no shine. We are purified by
God in similar ways, and though the “fires” are not as hot, they certainly can be just as painful. It is in the fires, in the darkness and heat of the valleys, that God refines us. He uses them to skim off our pride, selfishness, jealousy, lust, anger, and greed. A life of faith is not one incredible mountaintop experience after another. A life of faith is trusting God in the valleys, where we live day after day, where we serve and get dirty and sometimes struggle to find HIs light. It is in the valleys that God trains us and shapes us for His purposes.

You may feel like Jesus just wants you to suffer and be miserable; He does not! He does, however, want your heart refined and purified and looking just like His. You are here for His purposes, not your feelings, so roll up your sleeves and get down in the valley. That is where you will find the life of purpose you are destined to live. That is where Jesus will skim off your impurities, and where you will become strong. So that one day, your life and your character will shine like the purest gold! You are loved!