God's refining fire

At the start of 2020, we saw so much on social media declaring “this is my year! I’m finally gonna ________.” Maybe right now you feel discouraged because you haven’t made progress like you thought you would. Maybe you’re frustrated because at this rate, you won’t have enough time or resources to make your dreams a reality. May I lovingly remind you that 2020 was never supposed to be your year. Every year, every day, every hour… it’s all for the glory of God, & even in the middle of suffering & uncertainty, I think that we can say with assurance that the Lord is being glorified in our world right now.

So frequently, I think we find ourselves staring our problem, frustration, & disappointment in the eyes & proclaiming with faith, “My God is bigger than you.” We pray unceasingly & wholeheartedly, but when we open our eyes the problem is still there. Then what?

Do you become fearful ?? Do you run from God ?? Do you take matters into your own hands ?? You aren’t the only one who has ever felt let down or discouraged. Thankfully, we see story after story in the Bible of people who faced various trials. My prayer is that today we learn one central message—- Although He is able, God’s plan may not be to save you FROM the storm, but He will always save you IN the storm.

So let’s open our Bible’s first & see what God’s Word says about walking through hard times.

Exodus 14:14 “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

1 Peter 1:7 “So that the tested genuineness of your faith— more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire— may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Isaiah 48:10 “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver, I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.”

1 Peter 5:10 “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

Even if you’ve heard some of those verses too many times to count, I’m praying that God opens your eyes to see them in a new light. I pray that His Word becomes our refuge & our source of comfort. When we are unsure how to respond to a situation, we can be so thankful for God’s Word. Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 says “What has been is what will be, & what has been done is what will be done, & there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new?’ It has been already in the ages before us.” This assures us that although the literal situations recorded in the Bible may not be the same, the message remains the same. The people of Bible times had the same feelings as we do today & they responded similarly to trials. So let’s learn from the lives of Jonah, Daniel, Shadrach, Mesach, & Abendago, Job, & Paul.

1. Job (Job 1-42)

The story of Job is the most commonly referenced in teaching about trials. We learn the origin of trials:: They do not come from God. In Job 1 and 2, we see that the devil is the one who inflicts pain and suffering, but not without the permission of God. You see, the Resurrection put a leash on Satan. He can not act without the Lord’s approval. From Job’s testimony, we see an incredible story of perseverance. We are given instruction on how decades and decades later, we can respond in similar faithfulness. Job loses his livestock, family members, home, servants, and health. He struggled with loneliness, temptation, depression, anxiety, and fear, but did not lose his hope in the Lord. He continued to praise God even when his circumstances were at the lowest of lows. My favorite verses from the story of Job is 23:10-12 “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.”

The Lord didn’t save Job from losing everything, but He stayed with Him in the midst of chaos.

2. Paul

Paul has such an interesting story. He spent the first half of his life persecuting Christians before he encountered the Lord on the road to Damascus. Paul is so convicted & convinced of Jesus Christ that he gives up his former life & safety to proclaim the name of Jesus. Keep in mind, the government at this time was very anti-Christian, so his missions were extremely dangerous. Every day, his life was put in danger, but that didn’t phase him. In fact, he says in Philippians 1:21 “For me to live is Christ, & to die is gain.” Paul was a real go getter, but even when he is put in prison, he doesn’t become discouraged. He doesn’t waste his time selfishly moping around. He uses this time to share the gospel with a jailer (Acts 16:25-40) & writes several books of the Bible.

Throughout his life, we see a repeated pattern of listen & obey. Paul was constantly seeking wisdom & instruction from the Lord, & every time He responded, Paul was faithful to go. Thinking about his life, I am reminded of 2 verses:: 1 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!” Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

The Lord didn’t reward Paul with safety or a worry-free life, but He remained present in the middle of the storm.

3. Jonah (Jonah 1-4)

When Jonah is commanded to go to Ninevah & preach the gospel, he runs away. He gets on a different boat, but a storm comes. The other men aboard the ship, blame Jonah for the terrible storm. When they throw him overboard, the storm is silenced. Jonah 1:17 says “And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah.” Then after Jonah repents, ch. 2 vs 10 says, “And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.” Isn’t it cool that the Lord uses a whale to fulfill his purpose ?! We are told that Ninevah was a huge city. It would take 3 days to walk its diameter. From ch. 1 vs 2 it is apparent that Jonah was familiar with the wicked things going on in the city. He expected resentment, but was surprised to encounter people who desired change & were ready to repent. The Lord had clearly been working in their hearts.

In the story, we see that the Lord goes before us. He paves the way & does all the hard work. His desire is for all men to have a relationship with him. He doesn’t just want to use you, he needs your obedience to bring about change. The Lord is ok with Jonah’s initial timidity. He doesn’t discount us because of our weaknesses. Where I see powerless, He sees potential. Through the Holy Spirit, we are made bold & competent to fulfill the Father’s will.

The Lord didn’t watch Jonah run away in fear. Instead, he pursued, captivated, & empowered him to bear good news to repentant hearts.

4. Daniel (Daniel 1-12)

King Darius signed a decree that anyone caught praying to anyone other than him would be thrown in a den of lions. In ch. 6 vs 6 we see that immediately after Daniel gets this news he prays to the Lord… IN FRONT OF HIS WINDOWS. He didn’t say, “I’ll keep praying to God, but I’ll just do it where no one can see me.’ Like Paul, his physical condition was the least of his worries. He was living out Romans 1:16, being unashamed of the gospel. When Daniel was caught, he was sent to the lion’s den just like the decree said. Because Daniel had done no wrong in the eyes of the Lord, angels were there to close the lion’s mouths. Verse 23 says that “no kind of harm was found on him.” Kind Darius is astounded & writes a decree that everyone must worship Daniel’s God:: “for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.” Daniel’s deliverance was certainly an amazing proclamation of God’s glory and saving grace. But take a second and imagine being Daniel. He was alone in the den but unharmed. His encounter with the Lord is SO remarkable !!

The Lord didn’t allow Daniel to completely avoid the lion’s den, but He shut the mouth of the lions & Daniel left unscathed.

5. Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego (Daniel 3:16-28)

I’ve written a little bit about these 3 guys in a previous post (“Defying the World, Withstanding the Flames”), but their story is one of my favorites. King Nebuchadnezzar commands that when music plays, everyone should bow down & worship a golden image. Whoever refuses would be thrown into a fiery furnace. When the music plays, our 3 guys don’t bow down & are bound up & thrown into the furnace. When one of the servants looks in the furnace, he sees FOUR men, UNBOUNDED. My Bible says that when they walked out everyone “saw that the fire had not any power over the bodies of these men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their clothes were not singed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.” (vs. 27). These guys were just thrown in a furnace and don’t even smell like smoke !! The Lord didn’t let these men escape the fire, but he was present & they left unburned.

Prayer::

Lord, I believe that you are always good. Even when my circumstances aren’t. I will choose to stare our problems, frustrations, & disappointments in the eyes & proclaim with faith, “My God is bigger than you.” I will pray unceasingly & wholeheartedly. Even when the problem remains, I will be like Job, Paul, Jonah, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego. Like Job, I will not stop praising your name. I will not forget your faithfulness. Like Paul, I choose to be intentional. Holy Spirit, empower me to find joy in my circumstances & continue winning souls for you. Give me ears that long for the sound of your voice & feet willing to go. Thank you Lord, for constantly pursuing me. Thank you for never giving up on me. I know that like Jonah, you have a divine purpose for my life. I don’t want to run away from you in fear. Discipline me to run toward you, even when the journey ahead looks difficult. I don’t wanna miss out on being a part of your plan & witnessing your glory on display. Lord, I want to be bold like Daniel. I want to worship you open & freely, no matter what people may think, say, or do. I will rest knowing that nothing scares you. You are a capable, fearless Defender. Like Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego, I will trust you to stand with me in the fire. I ask for boldness to make a stand even when EVERY. OTHER. PERSON. person surrounding me is bowing to man-made idols. I desire to live radically different. Lord, you didn’t let any of these men escape hard times, but you stood by your promise in Jeremiah 29:11 to never leave or forsake them. Lord, when I walk through valleys, I will be full of joy & persevere for your name to be glorified.