The Furnace of Affliction

Whether one knows God or not, the life on this earth is pain and sorrow just as the writer of Psalm lamented.

Psalm 90:9 All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. 10 Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

furnace of affliction

Sometimes we utter in a mumble. If there is God, why does God put in this pain and suffering? Surely God is Almighty, and, if then, he could have put us under more favorable circumstances. Our life is so short like a daydream and everybody lives in sorrow and troubles in this earth.

Because of this some might complain and deny the existence of God. However, before we make a hasty conclusion, we have to look into the words of God in the bible. Then we can realize the reason for all the adversities we face in our life.

According to the bible, this earth is a prison spiritually and we are the criminals from heaven who were sent down to this earth because of our lawlessness in heaven. As the criminals are disciplined in the prison, we are going through many disciplines on this earth.

God disciplines us by putting us in many different situations. Some might be good and some might be adverse. The purposes of these disciplines are many but it can be simply put in this way.

Isaiah 48:10 See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

Through the afflictions, God is refining us, which means we are made pure, clean, and beautiful that we can be called the heavenly citizen. Since we became unclean because of our sins, we are purified and refined through the afflictions on this earth.

Deuteronomy 8:5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you….. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you.

Through the afflictions when we are refined like pure gold or silver, God wants to give us blessing in the end, the blessings of the forgiveness and eternal life. And we will be restored to heaven as the children of God. Let us overcome the difficulties and sufferings with a thankful mind for the love and grace of God.