“The
Pain, Process, and Prize"
“But He knows the way that
I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth
as gold …that the trial of your faith, being
much more precious than that of gold that
perishes, might be found unto praise, honor and
glory at the appearing of Christ”
Job 23:10; I
Peter 1:7
At times my path
seems oh so long,
With twists and
turns and such;
It winds uphill,
going on and on—
Which seems a
bit too much.
And if this road
was all I faced
In this journey
we call “life,”
That in
and of itself would be challenging enough
With all of
life’s turmoil and strife.
But, to this
distance and unknown perils
There are added
our heartaches and cares,
From physical
pain and emotional distress
That seem more
than we can bear.
Just when it
seems we cannot go on
Or face another
day,
We hear Jesus
whisper in our heart
And hear Him so
softly say,
“Dear child, you
know I love you
And always do
what’s best;
Although your
path is long and your burden heavy,
In Me you’ll
pass the test.
“Although I
allow your trials, pain and sorrow
That bring such
unbelievable pressure,
Just know that I
am using them all right now
And will give
you grace beyond all measure.
“Like mined gold
placed in the refiner’s fire
To purge away
the dross,
So do the trials
of your faith in life
Always lead you
by way of the Cross.
“Therefore, take
heart today, My weary child,
In your ‘process
of purification,’
By knowing your
trials are but ‘for a season’
And will soon
give way to celebration.”
by Tom Smith
