The Fire Of Affliction

“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 43:2 

  

  Jack Pines grow well after there is a fire. Fires cause the older trees to open their cones and release seeds which can grow in the fire-scorched ground. The forest management service will often set fires on purpose just to help these trees thrive. 

  The fire of affliction may “burn our body” but it cannot harm our soul. Yet our physical afflictions can cause us much pain and misery. What matters most is how we come through the misery of our affliction. We can release “seeds” of kindness and compassion, we can learn empathy and mercy and give those gifts to our children, friends, even strangers we come into contact with. The fire of affliction can destroy us or make us stronger. Affliction can make us better. 

  When we were children we had to go through numerous terrible experiences. We received shots to vaccinate us against disease, and we considered those shots awful at the time. We may have endured blood tests, or other tests that seemed pure torture to our childlike minds. Our parents forced us to do chores, our teachers made us do homework, and to us, none of these things seemed to our benefit at the time. 

  I have wondered if, someday, when we can see better from God’s perspective, when we are with Him in eternity, we will consider our present troubles and suffering much like we now consider the challenges of childhood. We may think of our troubles as important lessons and experiences we needed to grow. 

  Even to our adult mind current difficulties do not seem either helpful or good, they may make us feel that our heavenly Father is being cruel and unjust toward us. Feeling just as we felt toward our parents, thinking they were being cruel by the many difficult things they allowed us to go through as children. Yet someday we may see things in a different light, just as we now see those childhood difficulties as a necessary part of growing up. 

  Today the fires of affliction may be burning fiercely all around you. It may be that you feel the world could not be more unfair or unjust by forcing hardship into your life. I would encourage you to remember that though the pain and suffering in this life may seem unfair, God can take your misery and make you a mature person fit for His glory. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, as we go through the fire of affliction, make us stronger, better, more like You. Amen.