GOD WILL USE IT
“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10
Job discovered one of the great truths about God, concerning our trials. He will use our difficulties and hardships, and “when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” This is such an absolutely essential principle for understanding and enduring the circumstances of life. Why do Christians have trials? Why is the enemy allowed to attack believers? Can any good come out of the tragedies or disappointments of life? All these questions and others like them find answers in this verse and others like it.
The Bible emphatically states that in the life of the Christian, God is working everything together for good. This is a great testimony to the wisdom and sovereignty of God. Even spiritual attacks from the enemy, God will use to serve His purpose. What about the wicked persecutions from those who resent us, and what we stand for? God will use it. We remember Joseph who was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and was deprived of thirteen years of family and friends. His words were, “ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good” (Genesis 50:20). What a mighty God we serve! God used the exile of John on Patmos to give us the Revelation. He used the mistreatment of Jesus to provide our salvation. The Lord used Paul’s imprisonment to give us much of the New Testament. He used Job’s circumstances to purify him. Whatever it is that comes our way, as painful or disturbing as it may appear, God can use it.
Our Scripture also gives us insight into the specific purpose that can be accomplished through all that life brings; this purpose is to develop character in our lives. The Scripture tells us that God is using situations to further the process of conforming us to what He wants us to be. God uses circumstances to help produce Christ-likeness in His children. Job said concerning the almost unprecedented difficulties he was enduring, “when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”
As we find ourselves in situations beyond our control, and wonder the reasons why, it is comforting to be able to say with confidence that God is going to use it for our good and for His glory. Our sorrows will not be wasted. They will only continue the refining process in our lives.