What is your worth? Prove it.

You are infinitely valuable to God

• You are made in his image,
• Fearfully and wonderfully knit together,
• Chosen by God before the foundation of the world was laid,
• God's treasure.

And this trial that you are facing gives you an opportunity to prove it.  

But you know Timothy's proven worth,

how as a son with his father he has served with me in the gospel.

I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me,

and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

Philippians 2:22-24  

Serving  God alongside Paul in the gospel brought trial into Timothy's life.  He left his friends and family.  He endured the pain of circumcision.  He faced the same persecution that Paul faced as they worked together to advance the gospel.  He stood with Paul, even though the cost was great.  

Trial proved his worth.  

We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings,

knowing that suffering produces endurance, 

and endurance produces character,

and character produces hope,

and hope does not put us to shame,

because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit

who has been given to us.

Romans 5:3-5

Trial is like taking a core sample of our heart.  What shows up when we go through trial and suffering reveals what we're really made of.  Perhaps your trial is showing some pretty nasty things in your heart.  That's what it is supposed to do.  

To refine gold, a master craftsmen builds a hot fire.  He places gold into a crucible and positions it perfectly over the fire.  The fire heats up the crucible and the metal begins to melt.  With flames reaching higher and the temperature climbing and climbing, the master craftsmen stirs.  Dross rises to the surface and the master craftsman skims it from the surface.  The temperature climbs higher and higher topping 1000 degrees, but still the impurities rise.  The master craftsman will continue to stir and skim until all that remains is pure gold.   

Let the trial do its work in your life.  Let the trial reveal the impurities and trust that the Master Craftsman is 

• With you
• For you
• Will never leave you or forsake you

The trial reveals, but the Master Craftsman is the only one who can skim off the dross.  

Are you in a trial?  What is your trial revealing about your heart?  Would you trust the Master Craftsman to stir your heart, allow the dross to rise, and skim it off?  Would you trust the Master Craftsman to prove your worth through the trial?  

Refiner's fire

My heart's one desire 

Is to be holy

Set apart for you Lord ...

  

If you are not in the midst of a trial right now, someone in your life is.  Paul and Timothy had each other.  We need each other as we face trials.  Yesterday I shared that my daughter stood in the gap for me.  Is there someone today that needs you? Although it is only the Master Craftsman who can do the stirring and skimming, you can be a source of strength and encouragement for someone as they endure their own refining fire.  

You've joined me Riverside today, and I'm so glad you did.  We are gathering here Monday - Friday walking through Philippians.  If you like what you've read, would you share it with a friend or two? If you subscribe by putting your email in the little box up-and-to-the-right, Riverside will land in your inbox every day.  Wouldn't that be great?