Trial by fire. How can we see the goodness and power of God when everything is going well, when there is no trial? How can we see miracles we can’t explain if there is no need for one in the first place? How can we grow in the Lord if there is nothing that challenges us or if there is nothing to exercise our faith? Fire burns, fire hurts, fire destroys, but fire causes us to rebuild from the ground up. Fires can be devastating, but if you walk through them with the Lord, you build back better than you could ever have imagined. His way is always better, He always knows best. He doesn’t take away without replacing. Our God is a God of increase, a God of multiplication. We know God brings beauty from ashes, joy from mourning, recompense for trials and tribulations. We may be in a season of testing, refining, pruning. But what happens when we are pruned… we grow, and let’s face it, we need a lot of pruning!

Recognize that heaviness in your heart when you have grieved the Holy Spirit. Don’t harden your heart to it. It is the goodness of the Lord that leads us to repentance, to that cleansing, renewing, to that state of glorious peace. There is no peace for the wicked! So, don’t despise the discipline of the Lord, the Lord disciplines those He loves, He disciplines His children. 

When we are in the valley, in the storm, remember it will pass and God will turn it for good. We can trust Him in and through it all. God will work it out. He will see you through. The trial will end, it will not last forever. Cling to the hem of His garment. Cling to your lifeline, trust Him, trust in His greater plans. Like Job, David, Moses, Ester, and other great heroes of the faith, we are being prepared for what is ahead. We are being prepared for Kingdom assignments. May we be tested and approved, purified, made ready, and through it all give God glory, even in the midst of the trial… the trial by fire.