We all have times when life hurts. It’s hard and painful and we wish it would just quit. We aren’t suicidal but we want the pain to just go away and leave us alone. We know in the pit of our soul that we are being refined but our heart feels condemned. Like we’ve screwed up again. We feel helpless and hopeless.

We find comfort knowing that the smelter is never far from the furnace when his gold is in there being refined. We know that Jesus is close when we’re going through a time of testing, we can’t feel Him, can’t see Him, and can’t hear Him, but we are pretty sure He is right outside the door to our furnace.

Oh my soul, people. We are so wrong.

“…He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light…” 1 Timothy 6:15-16

The word translated “light” here means firelight.

“Our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29

Oh people. He doesn’t put us in the furnace to burn off our impurities, so we can be acceptable. He put us IN HIM-the consuming fire-and He purifies us. We are never a part from Him.

The fire He uses to burn off our impurities is the very fire of His own Holiness. He does this because we are told over and over and over throughout all of Scripture that He is in us and we are in Him.

This is the why and the how of James 1:3,

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,”

We dwell in Light, we live in firelight because He dwells in us and because we dwell in Him.

You are protected by FIRE in the Fire. He never leaves you. He never puts you someplace and stays close but separate. He dwells in unapproachable Light and He also dwells in you and you dwell in Him in unapproachable light.