Daily devotion – 5th June Saturday 2021
When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold – Job 23:10
Affliction can be a means of refining and of purification. Just as ore must pass through the refiner’s furnace before it can yield up its gold, so must the Church and our lives sometimes pass-through God’s furnace of affliction before they can bring forth something beautiful and useful to Him.
I strongly believe the Covid 19 virus, whilst not sent from God, has been used by God to purify His Church and to weed out the chaff from the wheat. Many Church attendees have simply fallen away. Not being able to attend Church services or having Church closed at different times, along with the increase of live streaming, many people have become very comfortable away from God. Their relationship with God has been tested and found wanting. A faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted.
Had not Fanny Crosby, the amazing hymn writer not been afflicted with blindness, we would not have the blessing of her beautiful words and songs of praise.
The famous “Hallelujah Chorus” was written by Handel when he was poverty stricken and suffering from a paralysed side and right arm.
Affliction, no one enjoys, but it can make us stronger in our faith and develop our confidence in God’s watch care over us. It may also drive us back to the right path when we have wandered.
King David said, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your Word.” – Psalm 119:67.
Whatever the reason, if God sends affliction your way, take it in faith as a blessing not a curse!