Catastrophe’s Effect On Us

In the 1920’s the Howard Carter expedition uncovered the tomb of King Tutankhamen.

Treasure in Fire

Among the many treasures discovered there was a piece of jewelry which featured a gem of rare polished glass.  In King Tut’s time the only existing glass was that which occurred naturally. Usually the result of catastrophic events such as volcanic eruptions, meteorite impacts, and lightning strikes.  In these events the intense heat (over 1,500 degrees F) fuses the silica into glass.

Man-made catastrophes have also formed glass.  For instance, the first atomic bomb detonation in the New Mexico desert near Alamogordo, fused the sand into a green glass, dubbed “Trinitite,” named after the Trinity Site.

So where did King Tut’s piece of polished amber-colored glass come from?  For decades the source of this glass remained a mystery until recently when scientists discovered fragments of this same glass in the Libyan “Sand Sea Desert” of the Sahara.

How was so much glass created in this place?  Scientists determined that a meteorite impacted thousands of years ago. Its intense heat melted the nearly pure silica sand into glass.  Thus, something so devastating and intensely hot turned something as common as silica (Silicon dioxide) into something so treasured and useful.

The Blessing of Trial

This is illustrative of how the fiery trials and calamities of this life affect the person who believes in Jesus.  Instead of destroying us – though at the moment we will feel as though we’re finished – the intense heat of our tribulation transforms us into something useful and treasured.

Yes, even though we may consider ourselves as utterly commonplace, when God allows us to pass through the furnace of affliction we will come through it more rare and precious than any gem.

God’s trials turn us into treasures.

In the fury of his trials, Job confessed, “But God knows the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).

Prayer

Dear Father in heaven into Your capable and loving hands I commit my life.  Please take the commonplace material of my being and make me into something precious, beautiful, and fit for heaven. Amen.