The Refiner's Fire

Malachi 3:1-4

"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty.

But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap.

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,

and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years."

Sometimes we get frustrated when our plans don't work out. We make a presentation to a donor and it doesn't connect with them and their plans. We plan an event and there are not enough volunteers, or the attendance is lower than we had hoped.

What do we do with disappointments or, dare I say, failures? We could attribute them to our arch nemesis, Satan. He's always to good to blame.

How about the donor who just could not or would agree with our wonderful plans to extend the Kingdom through the school? Are they at fault?

Maybe the pastors that we try to bring into the school's sphere are just not grabbing the idea with gusto.

I believe these "sub-optimal" results are from the Lord's hand who loves us and wants our offerings to be acceptable; "offerings in righteousness".

Our work and our very lives are the crucible (remember high school science?) that is used for driving off our impurities in the approaches and motivations we use to raise funds.

These are not comfortable or easy times, but the loving God who gives us our call insures that we are refined and not destroyed; such is the nature of silver and gold.