Skip to main content

In the fire

 

There is so much distress in the world it is easy to feel distracted, despairing and far from God. I cannot imagine what it is like to live in some of the circumstances that many are dealing with. In New Zealand, we have had our own recent tragedy with six people at a campground buried in a landslide during heavy rain. My heart breaks for their families as it breaks for others enduring suffering around the world. I believe God’s heart breaks!

I have two friends who have terminal cancer. One is a young man in his late forties, I think, with a wife and four children. He has a rare untreatable cancer and is currently undergoing treatment to try and give him a few more months with his family. Although they are devastated, nevertheless they are holding on tight to God and absolutely contending for a miracle, believing Jesus is mighty to save. If the miracle doesn’t happen, nevertheless they totally trust in God and His goodness. My other friend is in her eighties, and this week she had some surgery to try and extend her life for a few months. She is a beautiful, gentle lady who loves God. When I visit, she tells me how good God has been to her through this trial, how faithful He’s been and how close He is. Her thin face radiates love for her Saviour, and I always leave her presence feeling encouraged in my faith. She is in fact looking forward to that moment when she passes from this life and is immediately in the presence of Jesus but wants as much time as possible with her family.

I can’t know how I will react if I end up in the fire. But I have total faith in God. He says not to fear that when we walk through the fire we won’t be burned, when we go through the waters we won’t be drowned (Isaiah 43:2). I remember when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in the fiery furnace there was a fourth person in the fire with them (Daniel 3:25)—some say an angel, others that it was Jesus. The point is, they were not left to burn in the fiery furnace by themselves, God was with them and He delivered them. I love verses that remind us that all we need is God. Verses like Psalm 73:26 telling me that God is my portion forever, and Psalm 46:1-3 ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.’ (NIV) We are also reminded that no matter what we are going through, His grace is sufficient for us.

So, if you are going through trials or hardship, trust in the One who loves you passionately. He will not fail you; He will always be with you. Know that there will be brothers and sisters in Christ praying for you, even from across the world.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Planting Seeds

  Carrying on from last week, I was wondering how I am sowing seeds. I realised that we can all sow seeds everywhere we go. I don’t go out that often actually, I don’t belong to any secular groups but I can still be responsive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Under his leading I made a determined effort to get to know the names of all the staff at my two favourite cafés that I visit at least weekly. I ask about their families; I support where I can. My friends and I find opportunities to give them all a little gift of chocolate and a card with a verse of scripture written on it. They all know we are Christians. I guess that might be called planting seeds. I converse with the supermarket checkout operators just to have a chance to bring a blessing to them. Some of them now know I am a Christian. I can easily bring God into conversations with unsaved family members, neighbours and strangers I stop and talk to in the park—with the leading of the Holy Spirit. I do not adopt a heavy...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Importance of Unity

  What do you do when you think the Pastor or Senior Leadership Team have got it wrong! A friend was recently talking about a decision made by our Senior Leadership Team (SLT) including the Pastor. We are a small church community, so decisions affect every member there. However, unless directly involved in a programme or initiative the SLT do not know how a decision they make might impact on the on-the-ground day-to-day running of that programme or initiative. It is important to talk to those involved to get their perspective and even in a small church this might not necessarily happen. Having said that, our SLT are generally very good at consulting. So, what do you do if you think it’s an unwise decision? This will of course depend on size of the church, whether the Pastor is a good listener and is prepared to talk about it and I’m sure, many other factors. My perspective is that I do not want to be talking about the Pastor behind his back. I do not want to gossip about him ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meeting in Fellowship

  This morning we had one of our fortnightly women’s meetings, called WOF! No, not Warrant of Fitness, although we could all do with a Warrant of Fitness from time to time to see how our spiritual walk is going. It stands for Women of Fellowship. We start with a hot drink and some home baking to eat, with some fruit for those who seek to be a little healthier. Then our leader, one of our pastors, introduces the morning. Following that there is something different each week. We have had a ‘spiritual kit’ handed to us and a discussion of each object, we had a morning to bring something special and show each other while telling the story of why it was special, there may be a speaker or a craft. This morning there was a word game and we each received a journal with encouragement to start a prayer journal. Now I am definitely not a ‘game’ or a ‘craft’ person so those times can seem a little boring to me. However, there is always good fellowship and an opportunity to get to know another ...
Post a Comment
Read more