Although this process seems cruel to us, our loving God is simply trying to replace us with Himself. What seems good to us may not be good in God's eyes, and what seems bad to us, may not be bad to God. Once I trusted in my own strength, but now I trust in You. Once I only heard about You, but now I see You . Many of us assume that we've already arrived at this place, yet when God begins to touch our lives in ways that we didn't expect, we suddenly comprehend the smallness of our faith.
Nothing reveals our true selves like the advent of hard times.
In order to reveal what is hidden below the surface of our pleasant religious exterior, God must turn up the heat. Not only is this the only process capable of refining gold, but also it's the only process capable of refining a human being. Since many of us do not willingly respond when the Holy Spirit prompts us to unconditionally surrender our lives and die to self, God takes matters into His own hands. He is the Potter and we are the clay. Therefore, He begins to push and pull and stretch and cut and shape us back into His original design.