Fiery Furnace of Adversity

March 6, 2023

As I reflect on the cross of Christ, I am reminded of an opportunity I had to watch a professional glass blower at work. I marveled as he took a shapeless, ordinary-looking piece of glass and transformed it into a work of art.  What struck me most about this process was that for this transformation to take place, the glass first had to be subjected to the intense heat of a fiery furnace.  I couldn’t help but see God as the Master glassblower and me as that shapeless blob of glass who is in need of the continuing process of being transformed.

This memory has helps me when I go through seasons of testing and trials which we all endure. Even through we don’t like it, perhaps during these times we need to ascertain if God is giving us an opportunity to become even more beautiful through the adversity.  Like the master glassblower, He knows we “ordinary blobs of glass” need to go through the “fire” so the Master can mold and make us into the beautiful work of art He designed us to be.  This is certainly not a pleasant way to be transformed.  In fact, if we are honest, it is profoundly painful.

During this season of Lent, we are reminded that there is One who has endured the fiery furnace of adversity in a way we never will. He was already beautifully formed and complete, but He went into the “fire” of betrayal, abandonment, physical beatings, humiliation, lying, rejection, crucifixion, and death. He understands what it is like, and He goes into the “fire” with us when we face adversity. So when we face those trials, we need to draw close to Him, open ourselves up to be strengthened and comforted by His presence, and know that this season, while painful and difficult, is shaping us into a more beautiful image of our Father.

Prayer: Loving Father, we are so grateful that even in our times of adversity, you are there molding and making us into beautiful vessels that will bless others and glorify you.  Amen.