Devotional: Trials Turned to Gold

Job 23:10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

I was reclining out in the hot around mid-morning trying to get the knots to relax out of my neck/shoulder muscles when I looked up at our tree in the back yard. I don't remember what kind of tree it is, but it has all those helicopter seed pods that spin as they fall to the ground.

This particular tree though is reluctant to drop its seed pods. So each Fall the wind blows the leaves all off it, leaving these ugly seed pods clinging to the branches. The tree really is ugly this time of year.

The morning sun was shining and as it hit the seed pods the light was reflected. They looked like gold nuggots hanging all over the tree. It was really pretty.

I thought there should be a lesson here, so I asked God what lesson I needed to learn from our tree. Here's the lesson:

The tree represents us. The Fall season when all the leaves fall off and all that is left are the seed pods represents when trials come into our lives that strip us of things that we love. It has the potential of leaving us ugly with all these ugly seed pods (attitudes) clinging to us. If we respond to the trials in a godly manner, those ugly seed pods turn to gold when the Sonshine of God's love shines on them. Others see the golden beauty of Christ being reflected to them and they are encouraged and blessed by it.

So the question remains, what do I look like to those who watch me as I go through trials. Are the seed pods of trials (attitudes) clinging to me and causing me to be unattractive to others? Or is the golden love and Sonshine of Jesus being reflected to them? When others see the glory of God in my response to the trials I go through, this is when trials turn to gold.