Stand the test

"'There is only one thing', said a village blacksmith, 'that I fear, and that is to be thrown on the scrap heap. When I am tempering a piece of steel, I first heat it, hammer it, and then suddenly plunge it into the bucket of cold water. I very soon find whether it will take temper or go to pieces in the process. When I discover after one or two tests that it is not going to allow itself to be tempered, I throw it on the scrap heap and sell it for a cent a pound when the junkman comes around. '

'So I find the Lord tests me, too, by fire and water and heavy blows of His heavy hammer, and if I am willing to stand the test, or am not going to prove a fit subject for His tempering process, I am afraid He may throw me on the scrap heap.'

When the fire is hottest, hold still, for there will be a blessed 'afterward;' and with Job we may be able to say, 'When he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold.'"

~ Taken from Streams in the Desert