The Refiner's Fire

And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Malachi 3:3
How does this statement reflect the character and nature of God?
Who wants to be thrown in a fire?
To understand this you must know something about the process of refining silver.

The silversmith holds a piece of silver over the fire and lets it heat up. In refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
Has God ever held you in such a hot spot?
The silversmith has to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. He not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
So how does he know when the silver is fully refined?
Actually, that's pretty easy. He knows it is fully refined when he can see his image in it.
If you feel the heat of the fire in your life, remember God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.