Andre tried so hard to “get it right” that he almost quit trying at all. Every time he stumbled—lost his temper, missed a prayer time, made a bad choice—he told himself, “See? You’re not real. God’s done with you.”
One day he read the verse again and paused on one word: approved. He dug a little deeper and realized it meant something like “tested and proven genuine,” the way metal is refined in fire.
That’s when it hit him. The fire in his life wasn’t there to prove he was fake. It was there to show his faith was real enough to go through heat and still come out clinging to God.
So the next time he failed, he did something new. Instead of running away in shame, he came back.
“God, I blew it,” he admitted, “but I’m still Yours, and I still want You.”
Nothing about that day was perfect. But it was honest, and it was brave.
Over time, Andre realized that being “approved” didn’t mean having a spotless record. It meant having a stubborn, returning heart. That’s just doing life with God: falling, returning, learning, and walking on—imperfect, but genuine.