Through the Fire

Just shot a quick email to my aunt and realized it was perfect subject matter for a post.

This is going to be quick, probably somewhat stream-of-consciousness, and certainly without attention to grammatical correctness.

Just a quick mental scan of some people I know makes me realize how many of us (many of you) are walking through the fire.  By this, I mean some sort of trial.  Some sort of pain.

A brother whose ALS has taken away his ability to walk or even get out of his house.

A friend whose little boy (the same age as my big girl) who had a tumor removed, underwent chemo, and was in remission only to have another mass appear within just a few months.  It was removed yesterday and the family is experiencing deja vu as they await biopsy results.

A family torn and broken.  (How many of us does this describe?)

A discouraged church member.  Perhaps a discouraged congregation.

An unemployed lady who is bitter that others who are younger, less educated, and less experienced are getting jobs that she feels she could have.

An educated businessman who has been without work for a year and a half.

A wife who is hurt by the words spoken in ignorance about her husband.

A child who is hurt by his father's inability to be everything he thinks a dad should be.

A sister who can not keep her feet out of the pit of drug addiction.

A daughter who was abandoned.

Three daughters who were kidnapped by their own mother, forced to live out of a car and care for each other while she looked for her next fix.

The parents of an innocent child who lost her life in a movie theater.

All these things make me ask, "Why, God?  WHY?"

And yet, "though he slay me, I will trust in Him."  (Job 13:15, my paraphrase)  What other hope do we have?  Life is tough.  God didn't promise Easy Street.  But He promises to walk with us, hold our hand, and when we can't walk any longer, to carry us.  But we have to be willing to trust.  Oh, the difficulty of trust.  Believing there is an end to these woods.  Hope on the other side of this fire.  Or, maybe just believing there IS an other side to this fire.  Trust.  Hope.  Believe.  Believe there is an end, dear sisters.  It may not even be in this lifetime, but there is a beautiful, glorious "other side," to our trials.


For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  Romans 8:18, ESV

Glory is coming.  If you are suffering--and it seems so many I know are--hang on to the hope that our sufferings can not even compare to the glory that's coming.  And, until then, may we cling tightly to God who is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  (Psalm 46:1)

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After writing the post above, I opened my email to find a perfectly suited devotional from Max Lucado.  I had to come back and add it here.

Let’s face it–anxiety or worry have no advantages!  They ruin our health, rob us of joy, and change nothing!  Our day stands no chance against the terrorists of the Land of Anxiety.

But Christ offers a worry-bazooka.  Remember how He taught us to pray?  “Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11”  This simple sentence unveils God’s provision plan:  live one day at a time.

Worry gives small problems big shadows.  Corrie ten Boom said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength.”   And Romans 8:28 affirms: “Every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.”

Most anxiety stems, not from what we need, but from what we want.  Philippians 4:4 says, “delight yourselves in the Lord, yes, find your joy in Him at all times!”

If God is enough, you’ll always have enough!

From Great Day Every Day