Extract The Precious From The Worthless

"Therefore, thus says the Lord,
If you return, then I will restore you -
Before Me you will stand;
And if you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become My spokesman.They for their part may turn to you.
But as for you, you must not turn to them."

Jeremiah 15:19

In this lifetime, the chaff is not yet sifted from the wheat. But there will come a day when we will all be tested by fire, and the question then will be, what's left? Will we be like wood that has burned up, or will we find gold that can survive the heat of the flames?

In that light (or fire!), shall we not consider this higher calling too, given in Jeremiah? For "if you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become My spokesman," says the Lord.

I am reminded of the calling God gave me in 2000 to enter into fulltime ministry. Some days are easy, but some days are hard. Some days I just feel like throwing in the towel. Like now. When the going gets tough, the tough really feel like crying and giving up. I think the truth is, the tough weren't so tough after all.

But that's OK -- I think. I think God did not call us to be superpeople, because He only called us to obey. And He called us to "return". He also said not to "turn to them". "Them", I take to mean, idols, other methods, other ways of solving my problems apart from God...

If I choose to return, He will restore. And He will fulfil His destiny in my life - to make me His spokesman. How exciting...

The journey in following the Lord is not the wide and easy road; it is small and narrow. But happy is he (or she!) who shakes off the easy but worthless worldly methods in order to extract the difficult but precious higher ground -- where the air we breathe is cleaner and fresher, of a different kind.

Then, one day when you are tested through fire, it is precious gold that will glitter amid the flames, and in their beauty, call out the glory of the Lord - as His spokesman rightly should!