A Refiner's Fire

First off... trees are amazing! I have always loved trees; and have never come across a type of tree that I don't like. I love that there are so many different kinds. They range from tiny bonsai trees to huge red woods. I've always believed that they must be one of Heavenly Fathers favorite things since he made so many of them. He also made all of us to be different as well.  Trees have always marveled me because they are of the most durable and resilient things in nature.

I've discovered trees to be very strong; my family has an apple tree in our backyard. Several years ago it got a type of fungus in it's trunk. I remember thinking how awful it was that we were going to lose our tree. Then one day my brother went out to the tree and he did a controlled burn inside the trunk, and he got rid of all of the fungus. We weren't sure if the tree would make it and for a while it didn't look very well, but then when spring came it had some leaves coming back, and by the time it was completely spring, it was fully blooming! I was amazed; I couldn't believe that our tree was doing so well with a huge hole burned in it's trunk! That tree is still alive in our backyard to this day.

Just like my tree, in order for us to become purified of those things in our lives that would weaken us, the Lord puts us through a 'refiners fire' to purge those impurities making us  spiritually stronger and steadfast.

Trees get bigger and tougher every year, and the way I see it, they keep enduring no matter what, this is how God made them.  In Malachi 3:2-3 "...for he is like a refiners fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify... and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness."

We all have trials in our lives, but we can remember that this life is our chance to be refined and purified and sometimes that comes with a trial of fire. As Job put it, "...he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." -Job 23:10

I can testify that once we make it through our trials we come out stronger, purer, and closer to God. However, it isn't until after we've made it through the fire that we look back and are grateful for the person we have become.

 

The Step of Faith

I grew up watching Star Trek and I'm still a huge fan. There are six Star Trek television shows. My favorite of the T.V. series is called Star Trek: Voyager. It is a story about a Starfleet crew that was pulled into a distant quadrant of the galaxy, far away from any other Starfleet people. They have to fend for themselves in a foreign, uncharted, and unfriendly place.

There is a specific episode that has often stood out to me; it is called "Sacred Ground." In this episode, the captain and a few members of the crew visited an alien world and one of the crew, a young woman named Kes, accidentally stumbled into an energy field that was surrounding a sacred artifact. The field severely injured her, putting her into a coma. Kes was brought back to their ship, the doctor discovered that Kes was not likely to survive. The crew learns of a legend where a King's son was injured the same way and the King went through a certain ritual as an initiation to awake his son. Hoping this would work for Kes, Captain Janeway asked the monks to allow her to go through the same ritual to awaken Kes. They agreed, but warned her that it will not be easy.

She agreed to proceed regardless of the risk. She went through several physical and mental challenges in order to learn how to help Kes. She had to paint pictures, stare at a stone until it lit up, and at one point she even had to climb a large rock wall free hand. Throughout the rituals, she had a guide who repeatedly told her that her tasks were meaningless, and that she already had the answer that she needed. Captain Janeway continues to push through, but after a long period of time with no success, she returned to the ship. She pondered on the things she went through and what her guide had told her. She realized that her guide was right, she had the answer all along. She told her crew that she would be taking Kes back to the energy field. The doctor told her that it would likely kill them both, but feeling that it was the right thing to do she went. Captain Janeway took a step of faith and walked through the field.

She was right, once she walked through the energy field, Kes woke up. Captain Janeway asked her guide why she had been made to endure so many physical and mental trials when the solution was so simple. Her guide told her quite simply that she put herself through those trials. It turned out that the ritual was based on the participant's expectations; so because Captain Janeway had expected to have to go through such hard trials that she caused it to happen.

I'm not saying that we cause our trials, but sometimes in life we can be really hard on ourselves. We can expect more of ourselves than is necessary. Our Heavenly Father knows us and he knows our hearts. He does not expect us to do everything exactly right all of the time - it simply is not possible! What he expects us to do is turn to him and take a step of faith and trust in Him.

Elder M. Russell Ballard once said, "Recognize limitations; no one can do everything. When you have done the best you can, be satisfied and don’t look back and second-guess, wondering how you could have done more. Be at peace within yourselves. Rather than berate yourself for what you didn’t do, congratulate yourself for what you did."

I can testify that as long as we have faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and we are doing our best, He is pleased with us. He loves us, we are His children and he does not want us to be so hard on ourselves. Remember that the Lord loves you for who you are, not for who you think He wants you to be!