Letter to Someone I Love....

Dear....

I was giving a lot of thought and prayer to all you are going through right now. It seems overwhelming and the frustration and fear will wear you down. For some reason the story of Shadrach Meshack and Abednego came to mind. You remember them, right, from the book of Daniel? They refused to bow down to the king, because they would only give that kind of worship to their God. And because of this the king ordered them thrown into the fiery furnace. But what happened next? A figure was seen in the flames with them. The figure was that of an angel, or in some translations, it was the Lord walking in the fire with them. And they were brought back out of the fire with out a hair on their heads harmed. They didn't even smell like smoke!

Now while it is a story of amazing promise and hope, I find it really interesting that God protected them IN the fire. He didn't prevent the action of being thrown into the fire -- but rather He allowed it. And then he stood in the fire with them and protected them. And it made me think of you. Right now you are in a fiery trial period of your life. You may be wishing that God would have spared you from being thrown into the fire. But for His perfect reasons, He is allowing this to happen. But the same God who walked in the fiery furnace with Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego, is walking with you.  So hold on tight to that image. In Isaiah 43. 2 God says: When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulties, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up, the flames will not consume you, for I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD.

I also see a parallel to the fact that the 3 men refused to bow to the king. You have just made a commitment to another and to God to live in accordance to His will and His Will alone. This is a guarantee that the enemy will attack you. He will throw all sorts of fiery darts your way-- and God for reasons we may never understand, will allow this to happen. But HE will never allow harm to come to you. We are children of God and the evil one can not touch us!! Even in the face of the worse case scenario, God is GOOD and He is Sovereign. Rest in Him. Hope in Him. Wait on Him.

 I hope this gives you a measure of comfort and encouragement today. And tomorrow.... I know that verse from Isaiah was like a life line for me during some of the darkest moments of my life. I pray it will be the same for you.


Love,
Robyn