The Master Chef

“And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in  righteousness.” Malachi 3:3

THE MASTER CHEF

I remember when Suzanne and I were a young married couple and bought our first backyard grill. I was going to start “grilling out” like other guys did. I was going to be a “Master Chef,” griller extraordinaire. . . or so I envisioned. One of my first experiences as a “Master Chef” was grilling chicken for some friends after church one Sunday. It was their first time over to our house for lunch. With practically no cooking skills to my credit, I mistakenly took the chicken off the grill too soon. Some may like rare steak, but nobody likes rare chicken . . . and Salmonella. At the table, our guests politely asked if I could put their chicken back on the grill to cook it a little longer. Oh my! I understood, but it was still an embarrassing moment to say the least!

NEVER TOO SOON AND NEVER TOO LATE

Did you know the Lord puts His children on the grill, so to speak? He leads us into fiery trials. He puts us in the furnace of affliction, into the smelting pot of refinement. It is really hot and unpleasant in the fire. No one likes fiery trials . . . but everyone needs them in order to be made more like Jesus. Our verse for today reminds us that the Lord “sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.” In His infinite love, God watches over us as we are going through the flames of the refining process. He’s at work in each of our individual lives. He truly is the Master Chef! He is using our fiery trials to purge the impurities and remove the dross of sin and selfishness from our lives. 

Maybe you’re going through a fiery trial today. Perhaps you feel as if God has forgotten you in the fire. It could seem as though He really isn’t that concerned about you and what’s going on in your life. Perhaps you feel as if He has gotten busy with other things and has left you to yourself. Perhaps you feel as if the chicken was done a long time ago. Listen, my friend… God watches you in the refining pot. He never sleeps or slumbers because He never takes His eyes off His children. The Bible reminds us, “..the  eyes of the  Lord  are over the righteous, and his ears  are open unto their prayers..” (I Pet. 3:12). 

He is the Master Refiner, the Master Chef. He knows what He is doing in your life and mine. He has a purpose in every trial. He never takes His eyes off of us. He never takes us out too early, like I did with the chicken, and He never leaves us in too long. Regardless of what we face, we can rest assured that our loving Refiner is watching and will be faithful to do what is best for us.

SEE HIS REFLECTION

How does a refiner know when the process is completed? It is completed when all the dross or impurities are removed. As a refiner of silver or gold melts and liquefies that metal in the pot, he watches as the foreign particles separate from the silver or gold and float to the top. He takes his skimmer and removes the unwanted materials. He knows the more pure the precious metal is, the more valuable it becomes. 

The refiner continues this process until all of the dross is removed and he can look into the pot and see His own reflection in the shining precious metal. In the same way, God is working on you and me so that people can see Jesus more in us. John the Baptist put it this way, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). Trust God in the fire. He is working every trial together for our good and His glory. 

By the way, I still love to grill! And I’m a lot better at it today than I was when I first started! Am I a “Master Chef” yet? No, far from it! But I know Who truly is The Master Chef! Let’s trust Him together! 

Think it over . . .

Doug Pierce is a Church planter and a pastor. In 2003 he started, and continues to pastor First Independent Methodist Church in Madison, Mississippi. His #1 priority is to glorify God in all aspects of ministry. He does this through teaching his congregation to Love God, Love One Another, and Love Others to God. Prayer, outreach, and church growth through evangelism are vital parts of his ministry. He and his wife Suzanne live in Madison, Mississippi where they also enjoy their children and grandchildren. To find out more about Doug‘s ministry visit the FIMC Website

Feature Photo by Bing Images