Testing of Character: The Fiery Furnace

"Why is life filled with suffering? Why does it seem so unjust? What is the purpose of doing things correctly when it feels like everyone is deceitful?..."

"If you are determined to stand and live for something, you would be a fool not to anticipate getting tested for your authenticity in the fiery furnace. And the sole pathway to emerge victoriously is through unwavering faith... Faith transcends all reasoning and logic. It is a literal power to see and have confidence in the unseen, amidst the sorrows and afflictions of life. Once you master this superpower, you become unstoppable. Nothing will cause you worry, fear, shake you, or threaten you, while you wait for your desire to inevitably come to fruition."

Testing of Character: The Fiery Furnace

Dear Reader,

I hope to enlighten understanding of you who has been greatly disturbed by some of the circumstances of your life, very lightly.

Let us explores the metaphor of the fiery furnace as a representation of the testing and refinement process in one's faith and character building journey. Drawing inspiration from the analogy of refining gold. I outline the steps involved in this metaphorical furnace and briefly mention the transformative effects of enduring trials and tribulations in the context of faith. The central theme revolves around the belief that suffering, when approached with faith, patience, and understanding, serves a purpose in shaping and purifying one's character.

“If you are determined to stand for something, you would be a fool not to anticipate getting tested for your authenticity in the fiery furnace.”

This quote emphasizes the inevitability of being tested for authenticity in the fiery furnace, hinting at the exposure of character areas that need attention. Testing is seen as a means to develop perseverance, maturity, and completeness, lacking nothing, highlighting the importance of facing challenges head-on.

The two responses of grumbling or praying (act of faith) set the tone for how individuals may react to this fiery furnace.

Here are the steps

Gold (Character) is refined by purification (The greatest heat achieved in fire).

1. Gold is unearthed from the ground; symbolizing the phase when a source discovers and invests in you despite you being in your worst condition, recognizing your intrinsic value.
2. Gold is placed in a container; this represents the discomfort and insupportable state you get in when you are isolated for the purpose of testing and growth.
3. This container is then placed in fire of greatest heat that could be; this represents you when you are actively going through trials alone in isolation. Physical, mental, spiritual, emotional sickness, deprivation, or attacks are a few examples. 
4. The gold then melts and becomes liquid; this represents you when you are at your most vulnerable point. It is at this point you reach the lowest level of humiliation, nakedness, hunger, poverty, deprivation, affliction, suffering, pain, and desperation. It is a time of the most exposure. Even if weakness tends to be a state we avoid like the plague, the state of weakness is the strongest state to be in, in a sense. reason being; it is the stage where you are the easiest to mold. Your capriciousness, stubbornness, rebellion, and stone mind and heart are now in a state of dissolving and your remaining good substance in a state of molding. At your most vulnerable point, you have the greatest potential for growth and transformation.
5. The dross rises to the surface; this represents the pinnacle of exposure, where impurities and undesirable elements surface. It's the moment when physical, mental, emotional, and moral vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and flaws become evident. This is to facilitate the removal of any weakness, deficiencies, frailty, or instability that are risen to the surface.
6. Refiner leans over vessel and skims of the impurities; removing the dross helps improve the purity of the melted gold. This represents the stage where you are chastised. God uses his chastening (have restrain or moderation affection on) rod to chasten (correct by punishment) and correct us, even though it results in the suffering. God removes vile things in you through rebuke. It is divine intervention that purges elements in you that require correction, aiming to elevate you to your optimal state.
7. Process is repeated until no more impurities rise to the surface; this represents the many times God has to humble you to correct you. Humility, evoking introspective cries, acts as a remedy for pride and blindness. It also peels away the artificial layers we adopt in our quest for identity, revealing a more authentic self that transcends the need for superficial affiliations. Rejection tends to be redirection in this case, and disappointment turns into appointments with him. This happens when we are still delusional by certain aspects of life. This could signal we do not yet have the full truth or we may be ignoring or deliberately choosing not to face certain truth, or simply need more time and space to get it and get it together.
8. Vessel is then refined and proved;This represents the stage where you have shed all forms of resistance, concealment, evasion, filtration, defensive barriers, doubts, and fears. You stand prepared for both personal growth and external influence, ready to engage in constructive efforts and be receptive to transformative experiences.
9. Then the goal is recognize for its real value; subsequently, the genuine value of the goal is recognized through the meticulous process of calculation, estimation, evaluation, judgment, and settlement. This phase allows for complete work with all raw and refined materials. During this phase, there's a holistic engagement with both raw and refined materials, shaping the best version of yourself and precisely evaluating your true, accurate and inherent worth. This occurs because untested gold possess inherent value that often goes unrecognized until subjected to proper assessment and utilization.

Life is a school.

Life is a privilege.

This means:
It is a fight.

It is testing.

It is suffering.

It is something that must be cherished, respected, and obstacles must be overcome to attain the best out of it.

Life is a profound school, a privileged opportunity that demands engagement. It entails a continuous struggle, a series of tests, exams, projects, and moments of suffering, all of which should be cherished, respected, and overcome to extract the best from it.

You must start to recognize life as the ultimate opportunity in itself. The mere fact of being alive, breathing, and possessing choices and autonomy is not a casual occurrence. Despite the tendency to take these aspects for granted because you have woken up every single morning. It is imperative not to be deceived into believing that life is mundane, worthless, or insufferable to the point of contemplating suicide. Life is a battle, one that only those with the right mindset and resilience will triumph over. 

Refraining from complaints is essential. It is crucial to understand that God has ordained a specific amount of suffering for His elect Bride, and there are blessed effects to this suffering. Consider the analogy of a man choosing his wife, a company hiring employees, or a sports team recruiting athletes. In each case, there is a level of suffering involved in being selected for a particular group. Likewise, in the context of God, approval and inclusion in His kingdom necessitate proving a character capable of ruling, leading, good judgment, self-control, and doing good. The truth of the matter is that God has ordained a certain amount of suffering for a selected, a very specific ‘type’ of people. If you have specific preferences for the kind of person you're attracted to, the qualities you desire in your life, or the features and settings you envision for the kingdom you're building, is it not reasonable to consider that God does the very same thing?

Contrary to the misconception that God allows needless suffering, there is a positive and loving motive behind it. Do you refrain from employing punitive measures to guide your child, motivate your employees, or encourage your athletes? The fiery trials we endure serve the purpose of shaping a character fit to rule and reign with Him. This character is not bestowed as a gift but must be obtained through tribulations and trials, which inevitably involve a degree of suffering.

Raw Conclusion

Let's face it, folks, Let’s be real for just one second – we're not all cut from the same cloth. We’re not all planted and grown from the same grounds, Equality doesn't mean identicality; each life has its unique worth and a designated spot in the grand scheme of things. Embrace the reality that not everyone boasts the same qualities, abilities, gifts, strengths, or substance.

Consider this simple scenario: if everyone were fit to be a surgical doctor, would you willingly let just anyone with a "we're all equal" tagline operate on you? Don’t think so.

The world seems to be unraveling because we've exchanged our principles, morals, and values for personal, social, economical, financial, professional, cultural, intellectual familial, emotional and political gains. Devaluation and oversaturation prevail as we invite everything and everyone into once-exclusive or elected circles.

It used to get me down until I remembered the bigger game still in play. Despite the personal, social, economical, financial, professional, cultural, intellectual, emotional, political,  educational, athletic, corporate, and market landscapes losing their luster, life itself remains untouchable. Humans are tweaking their genetics to change their sex, enhance their looks, rushing to be first in line for the best resources, manipulating their circumstances and so on, but ultimately, humans lack the power to corrupt the essence of life and the game of life. There's still a fair game at play right NOW, and there is still time to play the game WELL.

Don't let the overwhelm and corruption of unhealthy competition discourage you. Even in the midst of a saturated, corroded, corrupt, and evil world, the essence of life remains untampered. God's design, despite the suffering involved, is positive and loving. The ordained amount of suffering is seen as a necessary component for obtaining the character fit to rule and reign with Him, at the time of his arrival.

Brief explanation of Faith before closing

Instead of being disheartened, replace your anxieties, worries, doubts, and fears with faith. Faith is a powerful essence. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrew 11:1.) It involves having a desire in your heart without tangible evidence. Faith transcends all reasoning and logic. This means that even if your eyes perceive one thing, everyone around you contradicts your faith, or even if science presents facts that seem to prove otherwise, you remain unwavering in your belief. It is the power to see and have confidence in the unseen, amidst the sorrows and afflictions of life. Once you master this art, you become unstoppable. Nothing will cause you worry, fear, shake you, or threaten you. Your desire will inevitably come to fruition.

Reminder & word of Encouragement
To suffer at the hand of God (the refiner) is to be molded further into obedience, becoming fit for rulership, leadership, judgment, and trust. Pity those who forsake their principles, cheat, and give in to wrongdoing when they have the power to refrain from it (It's crucial to acknowledge the imperfections inherent in human beings, not one is perfect, recognizing that it is inevitable for us to make mistakes. This particularly refers to those who willingly misuse or abuse their power.) Do not envy them, for a day of recognizing is on the horizon. Recognizing, in this context, is a process of calculating and estimating something's value—an evaluation, a judgment for settlement and placement.

Never shortchange yourself. Never sell yourself short just because the majority is doing it. There's a grander prize, one that can only be attained through faith and enduring the fiery furnace and developing a strong, valuable, and approved golden character.

Remember that these light afflictions, are not to be compared to the glory that is to come later down the timeline.

The fiery trial will soon end, and eternal triumph is commencing.

Biblical References:

Isaiah 48:10 “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.” emphasizes God's refining process in the furnace of affliction and how suffering is intended to bring individuals into obedience, making them ready for ruling, because power without Character is evil.