2021—a year of refining. That is what my wife Michelle and I call it.
A season of breaking, melting, strengthening, and molding. It wasn’t pleasant; there was pain, resistance and a lot of uncertainty. But at the end, we hit silver.
Did you know that silver melts at 961.8°C? It is one of the most important steps in the purification process. Often we sing—“Refiner’s fire, my heart’s one desire”—without understanding the intensity of what the statement truly means. God, being the Refiner, takes us through the process of purification, and trust me, it is not rosy. God’s desire is for us to be more like Him and that requires refining like silver. And for this, He will take you through a season of testing.
Even though God allows you to ‘melt’, He stands by you through the entire journey. He is there through your moments of frustration, anxiety, and emotional distress. Most importantly, even when you doubt His ways, He won’t let you go. When you cry, He cries with you. That is why He is our Friend and our Father. We, as a couple, deeply experienced God’s friendship and fatherly love throughout our season in the furnace. And today, I can boldly say that we were not only strengthened but also molded into better people. He definitely makes beauty from ashes.
It all started with the decision we made at the beginning of this year to move to the UK, right when the pandemic was at its peak. There were doubts and a big list of things that could go wrong. However, when we prayed about the shift, we felt that God wanted us to make the move. Michelle and I quit our jobs with the confidence that Michelle would get a job there and I would attend University for Masters in Information Security—we had it all figured. Or rather, we thought we did.
There are so many instances that I can share right from getting our air tickets (with Covid restrictions and ban on travel), to finding a place to stay (issues with huge deposits, shared apartments, and neighbors). God worked miracles in many things during our transition—Michelle getting a job that was more like a promotion specifically in her field of expertise, high scores in my studies. But in this article, I would like to highlight the bit about how I got my job or, should I say, how God got me a job!
I began searching for a job in September 2021. It started off well with full confidence in God as He always pitched in at the right time. But as time went by, my confidence slowly started fading off. I was rejected time and again; it reached a point where I lost count of how many jobs I applied for in the first place. In fact, nothing was working out as planned. Many companies where I thought I would get in sent me rejection emails.
It started to become harder than anticipated. November began and I still had no job—I hadn’t even cleared the first round for most of the jobs I applied for. My faith was tested at this point. For nights, I cried out to God. Doubts began lingering in. And then, on November 15, one company sent me a callback. Long story short, the entire interview process was done and dusted by November 26 and I got a confirmation on November 30 that I cleared all the rounds. The University, on the other hand, required the company to sign an agreement for the year in industry to be sanctioned, and the last date for it was December 3. As much as I was thanking God for the job, I was perplexed as to ‘what if I don’t get the signed agreement in time?’ Because if I don’t get it, the university would cancel my year in the industry. Hence my visa would end by May 2022 instead of May 2023.
And it happened—there was no signed agreement in hand on December 3. Yes, I did fret a bit but I knew that God is in control. With God by my side, I got the courage to confront the university about this, and since this required extension in terms of the visa process, it had to go to the Director. All I know is that I had divine favor—the Director decided to give me the extension till December 6.
And yet again, there was no signed agreement on December 6. Clueless—my mind drew a blank and the concoction of emotions I had that day is beyond words. I held on to God for I knew that He will not let me down. The next day the University came back stating that they are willing to stretch for an additional two days—the interesting bit is that I never asked them to. Surely, God works in mysterious ways. And Voila! During this time, the HR manager sent the signed agreement with my date of joining—January 4, 2022. When God wants you to wait, consider waiting as a gift. It is a testing of your faith—a time when you can experience Gods’ presence in a way that you never thought you could have.
Ever wondered why Jonah was in the fish’s stomach for three days? It could have been for a few hours or maybe even more than a week. I believe, it is because he persistently prayed and cried out on the third day (Jonah Chapter 2:1) that God ‘commanded’ the fish to vomit him out (vs. 10). It is your duty to pray consistently and persistently. Without prayer, God won’t command anything to be done in your favor.
Another thing to keep in mind is to ‘give thanks to God’ in whatever circumstance you are in.
Jonah 1:17 says that “God brought the fish to swallow him.” It did not happen by chance. In Jonah 2:2, Jonah thanks God for listening to his cry. Now, if God did not provide the fish, he would have died in the storm. Your ‘rock bottom’ might be your ‘fish’—the belly you are inside right now might be what you call the worst but it might be something that protects you from the storm. Thanking God is essential in your everyday life even if you don’t like it.
And most importantly, take risks. If you feel that your major step in life would make you grow in God, then take it. Try consulting Jesus in your major steps. Prepare yourself for what is to come. Yes, it definitely won’t be easy and Jesus would join you in your melting process. He would give you the wisdom to go through the path. Remember, in every circumstance, God is your keeper and nothing is too big for Him
One thing I keep saying over and over again is—our God is a God of wonders. His ways are not our ways. His timing is never too early nor too late. Michelle and I had a lot of highs and lows, but through it all, God has been faithful. We always try to gauge our lives as per the standards of society but the truth is, God does not want to be a part of that wild goose chase. We are made by God in His image and our only yardstick is Jesus.
Consider this:
Always remember that, no matter how bad your situation is, God will turn it for your good. He will do ANYTHING for you to walk in His ways and do His will. He generally does this using one of these three ways or sometimes, all three:
He says YES: He will give you whatever you desire so that you would do what He wants you to do. This method generally has a high failure rate, to be brutally honest.
He says NO: He will do the opposite of what you want or maybe not give it at all. But remember, that this is how He protects you or a way to tell you that there is something better for you. Sometimes, it might feel like you have hit your rock bottom, but He is going to use all those rocks around you to make something new.
He says WAIT: He would make you wait for some time so that you would understand His will and His desires in your life. This season is filled with uncertainties and doubts but it builds character and gives you clarity on who God really is. The end result is nothing less than the best.
