This morning, one of our ministers spoke about one of my favorite stories – Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego. He even pronounced Abednego correctly (or at least what I would consider to be correctly), and that made my day. 😊 If you haven’t had a chance to read it (or watch the VeggieTales version 😊), I highly recommend you take a look at Daniel 3 in the Bible.
One of the main points that Kris made in his sermon was this: the furnace may be intended to destroy, but instead God uses it as a forge for our faith.
Our son, Jonathan, recently tried to create a forge in our backyard. He had an old fork that he really wanted to turn into a dagger. So he built a fire in our backyard firepit, feeding it with sticks and logs, and occasionally asking me to put some lighter fluid on it because it kept going out. Eventually, he got a pretty good fire going, but no matter what he tried, he could not get his fork to change much in shape. After a while, he gave up, realizing that our little backyard firepit wasn’t going to get hot enough to melt metal to the point where it could be reshaped.
And although it’s somewhat discouraging to realize this – often our faith will not grow until the fire gets overwhelmingly hot. When life is at its hardest is when we most realize our need for God and His power.
After church was over this morning, we talked about times when a furnace has become a forge for our faith. The boys were rather distracted and ready to move on with the day, as one headed to the bathroom, one was rolling around on the floor with the dog, and the other already had the remote in hand, ready to turn on a YouTube video. So our discussion didn’t get very far.
But Josh and I both shared about some pretty hard times in our lives. And the more I reflect, the more I can list time and time again when things felt really hopeless and scary – yet God showed up in a miraculous way. Sometimes He removed the obstacle or challenge right away. Sometimes He waited awhile, giving our faith a chance to grow. And sometimes, He simply stood in the fire with us, in the midst of the pain and the fear.
When I think of the season of depression I went through, the thing that most comes to mind is the God who was standing in the fire with me. At times I felt so hopeless and afraid and lost, but at those times He was so close. I had an intimacy with Him that I had never known before. He sustained me and filled me with strength that I never could have obtained without Him.
The fire of my depression became the forge for my faith. The months of anguish, heartache, hopelessness, and overwhelming sadness were some of the hardest of my life. And yet without the intense fire of that season, my faith would not have grown to the point where I have this deeper intimacy with Him.
I pray the same for you. That whatever furnace you are in right now becomes a forge for your faith to grow stronger and to be shaped into something you never even knew it could become. May you know an intimacy and closeness with your Father that you’ve never experienced before as He stands in the fire with you.
Fittingly, our worship team closed the service with this song. It’s been an anthem for me as I reflect on the fires I’ve been through in my life. I hope it speaks to you too.
NOTE: This is NOT our worship team, it’s Hillsong United, which means the video is eight minutes long and they sing a whole lot of extra parts. But you get the general idea. 😊
Feeble Hands 