God uses life to refine us as we walk through our time on earth. When life is going well, we focus on things that may not be all that important. The Lord uses trials to recalibrate our minds and hearts as they occur. When I am undergoing emotional or physical difficulty, the little things in life don’t matter anymore. When our lives are turned upside down, we yearn for what is important such as our faith, family, and friends.
Through the trials of life, the Lord burns away the trash that has built up in our life. We wonder where God is or why this is happening to us during this time. Isaiah 48:10 gives us insight into the Lord’s refinement process. 10 I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering. [1] God does not test us to destroy us but to refine us like silver.
Trials of Life Refined Joseph and His Brothers
When Joseph was seventeen, his brothers sold him into slavery because they hated him. Many years later, the brothers purchased grain in Egypt during a drought. Through these many years, Joseph was a slave and later wrongly imprisoned, but the Lord refined him as a person. Through God’s intervention, Joseph is a high-ranking Egyptian official as his brothers come to buy grain from him.
The brothers had also been through many trials in life, including living with the guilt of selling their brother. They had also been refined over the years by the Lord and were better people. After Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, he invites them, their families, and their father to come and live in Egypt. Several more years go by, and their father, Jacob, dies. The reaction of the brothers and Joseph reveal God has done great work in their life.
Genesis 50:16 So they sent this message to Joseph: “Before your father died, he instructed us 17 to say to you: ‘Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you—for their sin in treating you so cruelly.’ So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin.” When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept. 18 Then his brothers came and threw themselves down before Joseph. “Look, we are your slaves!” they said. [2]
The Lord is Always with Us
We wonder how God can bring out suffering in our difficult times. Yet when we look back on the trials of our life, we see how the Lord used them to transform us. This does not mean we want to sign up for difficulties in life, but we know the Lord uses them for good. We can be thankful our Lord is so loving and caring that He does not leave us the way we are but changes us into more beautiful people.
To learn how God uses life to refine us, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/joseph-forgives-his-brothers
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Is 48:10). Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ge 50:16–18). Tyndale House Publishers.