I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people;' And each one will say, 'The LORD is my God.'" Zechariah 13.9

Malachi 3:3  "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." 
           
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered
      what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.     
           One of the women offered to find out the process of refining    
      silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.          
           That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an           
      appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about  
      the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of
      refining silver.                                                     
           As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over  
      the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver,   
      one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the    
      flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.              
           The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then 
      she thought again about the verse that says:  "He sits as a refiner  
      and purifier of silver."  She asked the silversmith if it was true   
      that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the     
      silver was being refined.                                            
           The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding 
      the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time
      it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the  
      flames, it would be destroyed.                                       
          The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the            
      silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"     
          He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my 
      image in it"                                                         
           If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God
      has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image
      in you.                                                              
        

The Chestnut Mare