I choose to be holy
Purify my heart
Let me be as gold and precious silver
Purify my heart
Let me be as gold, pure goldRefiner’s fire
My heart’s one desire
Is to be holy
Set apart for You, Lord
I choose to be holy
Set apart for You, my Master
Ready to do Your willPurify my heart
Cleanse me from within
And make me holy
Purify my heart
Cleanse me from my sin
Deep within Brian Doerksen
Gold. The most precious metal. When it’s found or mined, it’s full of impurities. In its natural state, it’s not good enough to be used. It has to be purified. Purifying gold in a refiner’s fire is one of the best ways to remove all the impurities. This practice goes way back. It’s mentioned here in Zechariah 13 and we’ll come across it again in the next book, the final book of the Old Testament, Malachi.
In ancient times, this form of refining involved a craftsman sitting next to a hot fire with molten gold in a crucible being stirred and skimmed to remove the impurities or dross that rose to the top of the molten metal. With flames reaching temperatures in excess of 1000 degrees Celsius, this job was definitely a dangerous occupation for the gold refiner. The tradition remains largely untouched today with the exception of a few advancements in safety and precision. Gold Traders
The analogy is clear. In our natural state, we carry impurities and yet there’s a longing deep within each one of us to be pure, to be holy, to be set apart for God. We have to pass through the refiner’s fire to become pure gold.
In Zechariah 13, the prophet talks of how the shepherd will be struck down and the sheep scattered. A third will return and this third will be refined.
This third I will put into the fire;
I will refine them like silver
and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
and I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’ Zechariah 13:9
Only then will God be able to claim them as His own and will they be able to say with confidence ‘The Lord is our God.’ Only then will they experience what it is to be holy, set apart for God.
When I was at school, I had a friend whose family belonged to the Exclusive Brethren. I grew up in the Brethren church, but this was something else entirely. They were in the world, but wanted no part of it. They kept themselves to themselves. They weren’t allowed to mix socially with anyone. They had strict rules about how to keep themselves apart. They saw the world as tainted and did all that they could to separate themselves from it.
This is not what it means to be holy in my opinion. Holy is not a ‘holier than thou’ thing.We are called to be in the world, but not of it. We are called to shine as a light in the darkness, to serve, to be God’s hands and feet – to get out there with His love. We need to show what it is to live in the world but not with the world’s values and outlook. God created this wonderful world for Him to enjoy and for us to enjoy. I want to get out there and celebrate all that is good and stand against all that is evil.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2
That’s the challenge. Coming back daily to the refiner’s fire and then going out into the world to shine as stars with God’s love.
The refiner’s fire is not a comfortable place. The heat is on. All the impurities rise to the surface. That’s what happens when we sit in the presence of the one true God, isn’t it? His light shines into all our dark places. He shows us what needs changing, what needs putting right.
But then come the reassurances. We belong to God. We are His. We can call Him ‘my God’.
The one true God of the universe is living in me, working in me, changing me to be more like Him.
Refiner’s fire,
My heart’s one desire
Is to be holy,
Set apart for You, Lord.
I choose to be holy,
Set apart for You, my Master,
Ready to do Your will.
