“For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
You have caused men to ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.” (Psalm 66:10-12)

As the people of God, we will undoubtedly go through periods of refinement. There will be times of affliction, times when burdens press hard against our backs. There will be times when we seem to be dragged into the net, when people will “ride over our heads,” when we will go through the fire and through the water.