Walking Through Fire

September 18, 2014

Recently, I had a conversation with a friend who is going through a string of difficulties. The details are confidential, but I can say that just about the time one issue gets resolved, another one crashes into him. His faith in Christ is strong and unshaken, but this kind of thing does get wearisome, he is feeling the effects of it all, and was almost apologetic for bothering me with his troubles. As we talked, it occurred to me that every one of us goes through the fire at one time or another. Right now, it is his turn; I reminded him of a mutual friend whose turn it was a couple years ago, and of the difficulties I and my family endured ten years ago when people were leaving the church right and left.

When one is feeling the heat of the fire, it probably isn't much comfort to be told that it's just your turn, except for the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were cast into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow to king Nebuchadnezzar's golden idol. When the king looked into the furnace, he saw not only these three, but a fourth man in the fire, walking around; and this fourth man looked like the Son of God.

No one likes having to go through the fire, and there are unfortunately, plenty of preachers who essentially tell their people that God just wants to bless them and keep them from every harm. There is enough truth in such statements to convince people, but enough falsehood to confuse and destroy them if they take the bait. I've told our people for years that God isn't nearly as interested in our happiness as in our holiness, and if one must be sacrificed in order to gain the other, God will take away the happiness every time. The fire is never pleasant, but it is tolerable if that fourth Man is walking through it with us. My own experience in these matters, while somewhat limited, is echoed by countless others who say with me that while we enjoy the good times, we grow through the trials.

To say that everyone has his or her turn in the fiery furnace sounds fatalistic, and would be discouraging if that's all there were to it. When in times of blessing and respite, we would be always looking over our shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to fall, if fate were in charge of it all. The truth is much different and far better than that. We have a God who loves us, who himself knows what it is like to walk through dark and troublesome times, and who knows the beginning from the end. While he does not shield us from life's difficulties, he also never leaves us to our own devices while in them. He walks beside us, guides us through Scripture, comforts us directly through his Holy Spirit, and indirectly through the care and prayers of his saints. Tonight, it isn't my turn in the fire. I've been there, and probably will be there again. So I pray and read, fortifying my faith for my inevitable turn in the furnace, and I make sure that as much as possible, I am there for my brothers and sisters who are presently in the fire, representing for them that fourth Man as best as I can. I am grateful tonight to have been able to listen, to pray for, and walk with my friend through his fire. And I am grateful for those who have done so for me. They literally saved my life.