Thursday, August 26th Update from Joni
Thursday, August 26th Update from Joni
While sitting in the back of the van yesterday, driving home from my second round of chemotherapy, Ken had on a CD playing low, “I Can Only Imagine.” I had to swallow hard and push back the tears; not so much of discouragement, but of wistful longing for that blessed Day when disease and disability will seem like a long ago, half forgotten dream.
My daily strength is pretty erratic, but when I’m at my lowest ebb, I stir my soul, remembering that these challenges are not only for my sake, but for something bigger. Something is stirring in the heavens and I believe it’s a struggle for the souls of the world’s disabled. When I pray (and when you join me), we are doing spiritual battle, ‘muscling’ back the kingdom of darkness and clearing the way for the success of the Gospel in their hearts, whether through Wheels for the World, Family Retreats, Wounded Warrior Getaways, or whatever. And it’s our afflictions, praise God, that give our prayers a special audience with God (Psalm 10:17). So when this stretch of cancer is behind me, I believe we’ll see it as a period when the Spirit gathered a bountiful harvest of happy, new believers into Christ’s kingdom!
One more thing. After last night’s rough sleep, Ken showed me this morning the e-devotional for August 26 that Joni and Friends sent out. It so sharpened my focus on Jesus, that I just had to pass it on…
A Heart of Silver
“He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs… Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me.”
– Psalm 66:9-11, 20
“The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.”
– Proverbs 17:3
“I love you, God,” we say all the time. And we do… I do! But we easily deceive ourselves unless that love for God is proved through a test. Love will say, “I’d do anything for you, God; follow you anywhere.” Obedience will say, “… and let me prove it.” Obedience is not so much for God’s sake, but ours. God wants us to realize the depth of our love for him.
And so he tests us. He is the one who brings us “into prisons” and “lays burdens on our backs.” All the while he never “withholds his love from us.” His love drives him to test us in order to refine us like silver. When gold is put through a refining process, it involves heat, as in a furnace. But when silver is refined, it involves pressure, as when one crushes a metal in a crucible. When a test heats up, you want to escape; when a trial is pressuring, you want to collapse. If we hold on, remain faithful, and rigorously obey, our hearts become refined. Obedience melts away pride and prejudice. Obedience crushes into dust self-centeredness revealing a heart, pure and at peace.
Others will notice when you come forth shining after a crucible experience. They may applaud your perseverance. Even this can be a test: “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives” (Proverbs 27:21). Your response? “Praise be to God… he has not withheld his love from me.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Oh Lord, refine my heart so that my love for you is real and genuine. I would rather have this trial than a dull, dry heart.
*You can also read the Joni and Friends Daily Devotional, which is new each morning, on our website. Click HERE to read the devotional for today, or Sign Up to receive it via email.
