"Christ would not test us if He did not see the precious ore of faith mingled in the rocky matrix of our nature;
"And it is to bring this out into purity and beauty that He forces us through the fiery ordeal." ~from Tried by Fair, via Streams in the Desert
"Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:
On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:
But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Job 23:8-10
We often do not see our own worth as God sees it.
We must trust, as Job did, that even when we cannot see God's design, and we cannot feel His presence nor ascertain His plan, He is working to bring out the glorious glow of Christ-likeness in us.
The trials teach us what God knew all along: we are created as a vessel of gold to be used by the Master.
Obtaining Mercy 