then the scum appears by Thomas Brooks

Isaiah chapter 48 verse 10 I have tested you in the furnace of affliction few Christians see themselves and understand themselves rightfully by trials God reveals much of a man's sinful self to his pious self when the fire is put under the pot then the scum appears

In the same way, when God tries a poor soul, oh, how does the scum of pride, the scum of murmuring, the scum of distrust, the scum of impatience, the scum of worldliness, the scum of carnality, the scum of foolishness, the scum of willfulness, reveal itself in the heart of the poor creature. Trials are God's looking-glass in which His people see their own faults. Oh, that looseness, that vileness, that wretchedness, that sink of filthiness, that gulf of wickedness which trials show to be in their hearts.

These trials have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1, verse 7.