By: Andrew Carlson

                  Last week Jeromy Lee shared an in depth and emotional experience God had guided him through. For those of you who were not able to make it last Sunday, Jeromy told the story of his sister Candace; she had a defect with her heart yet persevered through the limitations, pain, suffering, and countless hospital visits. Unfortunately, God decided to take her home earlier than expected leaving the Lee family confused and heart broken. However, God spoke to Jeromy calming his heart and showing him that his sister was in heaven.

While Jeromy’s story is and touched each of us in a similar way, we must take his story and discover what God wants us to personally learn from it. God showed me more than a story of a brother who dearly loved his sister and was heart brokenhearted at her passing; I saw a story of a child of God who persevered through a life time of trials concluded by an eternity with her maker. I saw another child of God who was forced to cope with the loss of a loved one, but more importantly God let me see why we experience trials. Each trial we experience forces us to examine ourselves and God; through our examination, God slowly purifies our lives and our perception of Him. The only way for God to purify us is with the refiner’s fire, He must melt us to expose our weaknesses and impurities. He cannot access these imperfections until we are completely broken down and dependent on Him. Once this happens, He is able to take away our blemishes, allowing us to harden as a finished project displaying His glory and what He taught us.