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Daily Devotion: Isaiah 48:9-11

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Isaiah 48:9-11     "For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.  (10)  Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.  (11)  For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another."

May I say at the onset that everything God does in our lives is for His glory, not necessarily for our ease. We sometimes want to think God is just waiting for us to give Him instructions as to how to make our lives better in order to be more at comfort and ease. If I understand Scripture, that is not the case. Though Jesus came to this earth and humbled Himself as a servant, He is not sitting and waiting to come running to us when we ring our little bell. He came to this earth that we might have eternal life and have it more abundantly. That abundant life does not consist of a new car or fine home or a big bank account. The abundant life that Jesus gives to us is that of righteousness, peace, and joy. In Romans 14, Paul calls this the Kingdom of Heaven. But even that peace that we can experience through Christ is ultimately for the glory of God.

The Lord said through Isaiah "Behold, I have refined thee." How does God refine us? That is to say, how does God rid us of the things we sometimes accumulate in our lives that become clutter and a distraction. He said, the refining that He has chosen for us is in the furnace of affliction. When we have things in our lives that take away from our peace with Christ, God will allow things to come that rids us of the distraction and helps bring us back into focus with Him. It has been said that a refiner continues the process of removing impurities until he can see himself in the reflection from the silver. God's love for us is so great that He will use the "furnace of affliction" in order to bring us back to the place where He can be seen by us, in us, and through us. Though we receive blessings in this process, God does this "for His own sake" and that His glory will be seen.  Lord, may your reflection show clearly in my life.

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