Fire

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine. 

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.  

For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."  Isaiah 43: 1-3

Last time I talked about the image of water.  Today, the other image I wanted to share about is fire.  Keller talks in his book about how "adversity is like a fire that, rather than destroying you, can refine, strengthen, and beautify you."  

Fire purifies.  Yes, it can also destroy if you are not careful.  But when used by a careful meticulous Creator, He promises it will not consume you.  As I've considered this the past couple of days, I've realized that there is a refinement that can happen in suffering.  Sure, we all want happy healthy lives.  We don't want anything bad to happen, ever.  But that is not life.  There will always be "something bad" happening to someone.  And when you are a follower of God, He uses it for our good.  

The purpose of the fire is to get out the impurities.  Keller shares about how gold, a precious metal, if put through the fire will soften or melt, but it will not "kindle and go to ashes."  However, if put through the fire, it will burn off the impurities.  So while the fire may try to destroy it, it will only in a sense make it more pure and beautiful.

So in this season for us, this "fire" we are going through, is to refine us.  The purpose of this fire is to get out the impurities and to make us look more like Christ.  It will do things in us that can only come out of suffering.  I've come to realize this is not a punishment from the Lord.  Instead, I'm beginning to see it as a privilege.  A time where the Lord wants to pull me in close and "work" on me.  Why?  So I can look more like Him and serve Him better.  And so the question is, do I trust him?  Do I believe that this is ultimately for my good?  It has taken me a long time to get here, but I think the answer is yes.

God gave us Molly to refine us.  All of our children have in a sense refined us in one way or another.  But it is sweet for me to think about how God specifically chose Molly to refine us in a special way.  The Lord wants to do something great in us and He is using her to do just that.  Our little Molly was given to us by God to refine Ed and I.  To make us look more like Christ.  

This was her task.  The Lord, before the world began, knew He would create Molly and send her on a mission to help accomplish His work.  Molly was being used by God in her life, but even more so in her death.  

That's what all of our suffering is.  It's purpose is to draw us closer to the One who made us and ultimately went through the greatest furnace for us.  Its what we do with that time.  Do we ignore God and try to walk through it on our own giving ourselves empty mantras to live by?  Or do we embrace the One who made us and knows way more than we ever could, and realize maybe it's time to listen to Him?  If we listen to Him, we understand Him better.  We even get a very small glimpse of what He went through for us on the cross, the greatest suffering there is.  

I choose to know Him more.  I have no idea what the future holds for the Martins.  But I know that right now, I am clinging to Him.  Probably more than I ever have in my life.  His words are my very breathe right now.  They are so precious to me.  I know He is working on me, getting the impurities out.  Not to make me look awesome, ha!  But to use me for His glory.  To Him be the Glory!