Walking Through the Fire

"...I have summoned you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." Isaiah 43:1-2 I sat down to think about this post this morning and prayed that God would show me what to write. He began to burden my heart for those who have a heavy feeling of despair. Because my ministry is dedicated to showing how we can know God and build a relationship with Him, I feel it is necessary for us to know that He wants to remove our feelings of despair and hopelessness. As I read the verse above, I noticed the word "walk" and its relation to "fire" in the sentence. God tells us that when we walk through the fire, He will prevent the flames from burning us. Oh how many times can I remember feeling the heat of fiery trials in my life. But as I reflect, on my own trials, I have come to realize that we can only escape burning if we keep "walking". Walking to me, in this case, refers to my faith in God. We say that we believe God, yet when we have a problem that appears hopeless and creates an overwhelming feeling of despair, we begin to wonder if God will really do what He says He will do. No matter how we 'term' it, that is the real question, isn't it? I have no evidence that God will fail me. I have tremendous amounts of evidence that He will, in fact, sustain me. It hurts me to say this, but when I have a feeling of despair or hopelessness, I am really saying that everything God says is a lie. And as I mentioned last week, I believe that those are the very thoughts that drive the nails in His hands once again. Since I have been diagnosed with this disease, I look at God in a new way. Where before, when I asked Him to do something, I hoped that He would. Now when I ask Him, I am sure that He will. Why? Because He is all that I have to trust. When my health began to fail me, I saw that nothing or no one in this world could help me but God alone. The fire is to hot for me to stop walking. In the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the king asks, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" and then he said, "Look! I see four men WALKING around in the fire, unbound, unharmed,..." The king didn't say that there were four men standing...he said walking. So for us, we must look at our faith. We must keep walking in order for God to have the opportunity to be true to His word. Today, if you are feeling hopeless or in despair about a situation in your life that has been going on a long time or is so bad that it feels as though it will surely kill you, you do have choices. You can go to God and find out how to "keep walking" and believe Him to be faithful or you can believe that what He says in His word is a lie. Sounds harsh, but we either believe Him or we don't. There is no middle ground of faith. I choose to believe Him. For today, I must keep walking...even when I can feel the heat of the fire. Love, Corrie My prayer for today: Lord, how ashamed I am for doubting you. I have no proof that you have ever failed me nor will you fail me now. I love you and ask you to be true to your word. You promise that you will keep the flames from touching me. I ask that you remember me and if you don't let me escape the fire...I ask that you join me in it.