Beauty from Ashes

 “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.”‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ ‭ESV 

This verse was part of a letter written to the Church at Laodicea, the people had become lukewarm, perhaps complacent, maybe even a bit proud or self-righteous. Blinded by their successes and prosperity they had forgotten God; that their many blessings had come from Him. 


Reminds me of the parable of the rich fool found in Luke 12:16-20(ESV), “And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’”

‭‭ Notice the rich man was only concerned with himself, what he was going to do with all his possessions. There was no thought or concern for anyone else. There was no thought about who made it all possible for him, no thought of God.

Is this what was happening to the church at Laodicea?


“Gold refined by fire”. This statement stood out for me. 

To be refined is to be free from impurities; free from unwanted components.

I did not know that gold, pure(24k)gold is soft and pliable, easily molded and shaped. To harden it, other metals are added to it which makes it more durable for jewelry. 

A pure heart is like gold, soft, tender and pliable

But add to your heart pride, bitterness, self-pity, envy, jealousy and so on, it becomes hardened.


Fire, can be both devastating and harmful as well as purifying and cleansing. 

Fire can also refer to trials and difficulties we may face on any given day. 


Paul says in Romans 5:3-4(ESV), “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,” 


How do we learn to endure suffering with joy? Not because of the circumstances themselves but joy in knowing we are not alone, that God walks with us in and through the trials of life. 

Learn to suffer with joy not in complaining and griping about our problems but joy in knowing that through them we may learn the lessons the Lord is teaching us; building character; becoming more like Jesus. 

Through these trials, difficulties, challenges in life God is refining us, removing the “alloys”, impurities in our hearts in order to soften it, if we are open to His Spirits work within us, which is not easy! 

I find myself arguing with God, kind of like the clay in the hand of the potter Isaiah speaks of in Isaiah 45:9!


Jesus reminds us in Revelation 3:19(ESV), Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”

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And Peter gives this encouragement, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬


But God will strengthen and restore you!


Jeremiah‬ ‭24‬:‭7‬(ESV‬‬) says, “I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.”

The “them, they, their, are the ancient Israelites of course , but He is saying the same thing to us!


God promises to give us a heart to know Him, that He alone is God, He alone can save

He promises that we are His and He is our God

He calls us to return to Him with our whole heart 

There is a purpose to everything He allows to touch our lives


I love this from Isaiah 61:3, “to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.”

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The Lord may refine us through fire but He also brings beauty from ashes:)




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