Tests of Faith Bible Study

Are tests of faith ever fun? Perhaps the only way we can honestly thank God for challenges we’re experiencing is by thanking Him for the good He will bring from them. Some biblical writers referred to this testing as refining, and the metaphor is rich.

A silversmith holds a piece of silver in the hottest part of the fire. Those flames are the most effective at removing the metal’s impurities. The silversmith is not a distant observer using a remote control; he or she is present throughout the process, actually holding the silver in the flames.

The silversmith is careful not to heat a piece of silver too long: even a second can render the piece unusable. How does the silversmith know when the silver is free of impurities and fully refined? The answer to that question is the most wonderful aspect of the biblical analogy of a silversmith refining silver and God refining His followers. A silversmith knows that the silver is fully refined when he can see his reflection in it.

Tests of faith are rarely enjoyable, but we can thank God, our Silversmith, for being present with us in the hottest of flames and for keeping us there only until we reflect the image of our Savior.

Thank You, Lord, for using tests of faith to make me stronger and better.

Zondervan, 365 Devotions for a Thankful Heart (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018).