Devotions for April 1, 2005

I have been reading through the book of Proverbs in the mornings for devotions. This morning I was in chapter 17 and verse 3 stood out the to me. It says, “The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests the hearts” (NKJV). I kept thinking about how the preparing for the trip and the trip itself will be a testing of me in the refining pot or the furnace. It will be the LORD doing the testing and the trying of my heart and preparing me to be more beautiful in His eyes. He will be the One putting me in the fire and doing the work. Another image I got was that of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego and the fiery furnace. I had a thought that never crossed my mind. The furnace that they were thrown in might very well had been the furnace that King Nebuchadnezzar used to make his image of gold. The furnace could have been used to refine the gold for the idol that was also used to test the hearts of these three godly men. The trip to PNG might be a refining in the fire to make me and the other members of the team better vessels for the Lord’s service. The LORD tests the hearts.