I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’” Zechariah 13:9
Sometimes, our understanding needs refining most of all.
It’s “I will bring them through.”
Not, “I will leave them to be consumed.”
It’s “I will make them pure.”
Not, “I will constantly remind them where they fall short.”
It’s “silver” and “gold,” rare and precious.
Not ordinary and forgotten.
It’s “They will call on my name.”
Not, “They will do everything in their own strength.”
It’s “I will answer them.”
Not, “I will let them squirm a little first.”
It’s “I will say, ‘These are my people.”
Not, “I guess I’ll take them. If I have to.”
It’s “They will say, ‘The LORD is our God.'”
Not, “I find my joy and purpose in something else.”