Today, I want to talk with you about silver and how it gets its shine. Did you know one of the definitions of silver is actually shine? I don’t particularly like silver, however, I love to buy a piece of silver that is tarnished. I know it sounds odd, but I love to polish it and work with it until the shine of silver comes back. Once I have it back to its previous beauty, I give it away. I just love the process.
Many things we see naturally relate to things of the spirit – this, I believe, is one of them.
Psalm 66:10 says For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.
Silver, just like gold, is refined in the fire. As long as silver is in pure water and pure air – its shine remains. But if silver is exposed to air and water with contamination, that is when it loses it shine and begins to tarnish. When tarnishing occurs, it often takes a lot of rubbing and pressure to remove the stains.
Silver can take a high degree of polishing. It is tough enough to be rubbed and polished for a long period of time without bending or breaking. We too can be like silver and allow God to polish and rub away all the tarnish and impurities in our lives. It doesn’t always feel good. It is often unpleasant, but you can’t shine without it. The word of God tells us to arise and shine. It’s not enough to arise – we must also shine. Much like silver, we only shine when all the tarnish and impurities are rubbed away.
Many believers want to quit before the process is over. Perhaps it is taking too long or perhaps they simply get tired of the rubbing. I can certainly understand that. I have gone through seasons in my life when it seemed that God was doing so much rubbing away the impurities that I wondered if I would ever get past that process. It always seemed to take longer than I would imagine to clean me up and make me shine.
Refining and polishing silver takes time. Removing all the tarnish of our souls that comes from being around contaminated things also takes time. As with most things, it is a process and you won’t get the full effects if you fail to allow God to take you all the way through the process.
In the world today, we seem to have a microwave mentality – we want everything fast. Fast banking online, fast food, 15-minute fitness programs, bible study on the go. The list could go on and on. We want everything done quickly. But God is not moved by what we want.
Years ago scientist discovered a new way to remove tarnish from silver. There was no longer a need for rubbing or polishing or removing tarnish by hand. Now, they simply dip the silver in a solution and the tarnish miraculously comes off. It only takes minutes. Pretty neat, huh? Only one problem – it never shines again.
Yes, the tarnish is gone. It is been removed but without the friction, without the hands-on rubbing, the silver never shines again. It is a much quicker and neater process – fast and no mess – but no shine.
I don’t know about you, but as for me, I want all the tarnish removed from me, I want God, Himself to rub every single drop of it away. I don’t want Him to stop there – I want Him to keep rubbing until I shine. Shine with His glory. Shine with His love. Shine with His healing. Shine with His abundance. Shine with His wisdom. I want to shine – just like my Father shines.
How about you? Want the quick and painless route? Or do you want God to rub away the dirty spots and bring forth the person you were destined to be? Oh, I know you – you are just like me – you must shine. And shine you will! Allow Him to keep rubbing away the tarnish and shine with His glory! It’s your destiny.
