I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, `They are my people,' and they will say, `The LORD is our God (Zechariah 13:9).'"

My business career has been as an owner of an advertising agency. Over the years I have had the privilege to work on many different and prestigious accounts. One of those accounts was Steinway Pianos, the maker of the world's finest piano. Each piano is still made from scratch, and it takes over a year to make one Steinway. When I first went through the manufacturing plant, the most impressive scene was the place where the soundboard is stretched to its maximum tolerance and allowed to sit for an extended period until it would remain in the curved design. The very location where this was done was an off to the corner part of the plant where the wood was stretched to its maximum tolerance and allowed to sit quietly. If it were alive it would be crying out to for mercy. After this extended time the wood will never spring back to its original state. It is permanently changed. The piano was becoming a finely tuned instrument. After this process takes place, the next step requires another point of stress. It takes eleven tones of pressure on a piano to tune it. Each step in the process moves closer to a finished product that will ultimately be played by the world's finest musicians. There is a particular sound that these musicians desire that only a piano like this can make.

God looks at each of us as a finely tuned instrument. However, we begin as rough wood that He desires to transform into gold. It requires certain experiences that will stretch our faith, our frame, and our very life. Sainthood springs out of suffering. If we can stand the strain of this intense process, we will come forth as gold -- a sweet smelling offering to its maker. When we are in the midst of these times, it feels like fire. It is painful to be stretched beyond our perceived limits, but the Lord knows this is necessary for us to become an instrument that can play a beautiful song that others will seek after.

Let the master craftsman have His way in your life today. You will be pleased with the instrument He fashions.