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But who may abide the day of his coming? And who
shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire, and
like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of
silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold
and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in
righteousness. (Malachi 3:2-3 KJV)
Who
may ascend the hill of the Lord? He who has clean hands and a pure
heart. How can we ever become holy as He is holy?
Lord, we exalt You as the Refiner's Fire. You are
both the Refiner and the Fire. You sit patiently as a smelter and
purifier of silver, scooping off the dross of our lives, watching until
You can see Your reflection in the vat. Continue Your work until You are
satisfied with the purity of our hearts; search them and test them. Your
presence burns out all that is unholy and unpleasing to You. We welcome
You and submit willingly to Your work in us.
The Hebrew word for refine is "tsaraph."
Translated it means to melt, or to test, refine, or purify metal. It
also means to smelt, prove, or examine; to try by fire. In worshiping
our Lord as the Refiner's Fire or as the Refiner, we are inviting Him to
invade our lives and turn up the heat so that the impurities of our
lives can be removed. As David prayed, we ask God to "Try (refine)
our minds and our hearts."
In Zechariah 13:9, the LORD of hosts has promised,
"I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as
silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My
name and I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people'; and each
one will say, 'The LORD is my God.'"
Lord, we cry out to You, asking that by Your mercy,
we will be as that remnant who will be purified and we call on Your name
as our Refiner, our Sanctifier. You are our God and we desire to reflect
Your character and holiness. May Your perfect will be done in our lives
as it is in heaven.
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