I have refined you, but not as silver is refined.  Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering. - Isaiah 48:10 You are being afflicted now, but not forever.  However long your trials may seem to last, they will surely come to an end - a profitable end. I employ the furnace of affliction not to ruin but to refine the faith of my people.   I want to burn away your doubts and distractions, your stubborn rebellions and harmful addictions, your perverted ambitions and petty animosities.  As all of these impurities burn away, the image of my Son will be more clearly revealed in you. Thought you may find yourself on the anvil of suffering, I have not abandoned you and I am not being cruel to you.  I am at work.  I know just how hot the fire should be and how long you must be in it.  I am extracting all of the impurities from you to fit you for an eternity in my presence in heaven.