The Bible is wrought with examples of God’s doing things for His own glory. Refining our hearts is no exception: “I have refined you in the furnace of suffering, … yes, for my own sake!” (Isa. 48:10–11 nlt). He goes on to say that Isaiah doesn’t want his reputation tarnished by idols; He refuses to let the recognition due Him go to them. It was true in how He dealt with Israel, and it is true in how He deals with us. God more often allows us to suffer to refine our own hearts and purge us from idols than to prepare us for “greatness.”5
