On a recent visit to the Corning Museum of Glass our family witnessed an amazing display of artistic ability as expert glassmakers took a small gob of molten glass and transformed it into a spectacular bowl in just over half an hour.  What struck me most about the entire demonstration was the frequency with which the glassmakers kept on inserting the work in progress in a furnace so they could keep the glass at temperatures exceeding 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. It was pretty obvious that the making of this masterpiece was impossible without the application of intense heat at critical intervals.

As I reflected upon this experience, it dawned on me that God, like the glassmakers, allows us to go through periodic applications of intense heat as well, so that He can fashion masterpieces out of the molten material of our lives.

I thought of the Old Testament character, Joseph, whose life story is recorded in chapters 37-50 of the book of Genesis. Notice how the molten glass that is Joseph keeps on experiencing the intense heat of cruelty from his brothers, slavery in Egypt, treachery in Potiphar’s household and captivity in the dungeon. Every application of heat, though painful to endure, turns into an opportunity for God to mould Joseph into the masterpiece He had created him to be and become.

Only two things could have prevented Joseph from reaching his destiny. He could have allowed sin to separate him from the Master Glassmaker’s hands by committing adultery with Potiphar’s wife. He could have permitted bitterness to enter into his spirit and turned against God. He did neither.

While enduring the heat of the furnace in prison, God arranges a divine connection to be made with a fellow jailbird, Pharaoh’s wine steward. When Pharaoh needs someone to interpret his troubling dreams, this steward, whose dream Joseph had interpreted accurately, remembers his cell-mate. Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams to his satisfaction and is immediately promoted to second-in-command of the entire nation…just like that!

How about you? Are you going through (or have you gone through) a painful divorce, intense conflict, humiliating defeat, debilitating disease, unforeseen accidents, unexpected loss of a secure job, business failure, betrayal by a trusted friend, ……………..(fill in the blanks)?  If you are indeed experiencing a heat wave of adversity, could this be the Master Glassmaker at work? As long as you do not get bitter, as long as you do not allow sin to take you out of His creative processes, you will indeed become the masterpiece that He has destined you to be. Just ask Joseph.