The Lie You Might Believe if You’re in the Refining Fire
The yellowing leaves on the fringes of the property line remind me of an October years ago when the bottom fell out. The first full month of autumn felt like a journey into a refining fire that went on without end.
First, the puppy died suddenly.
Then, there was a serious health scare, followed by the loss of another precious pet dog that had been a part of the family for four years. We all stared at each other and wondered how in the world God saw fit to take them both in two short months.
When we prayed it wouldn’t get worse, it did.
We faced life-long diagnoses, thousands of dollars of unexpected medical and home-repair expenses, and on and on it went.
When You Face the Refining Fire
During that difficult time, a friend asked a question that cut to my heart: “In the midst of all of these losses, has it ever felt like God has left you?”
She was speaking from her own pain, and we met on some sort of bridge over our shared struggles.
I knew where she was coming from. So many times in the past, things went all wrong, and I wrestled with the feeling that God had abandoned me.
Maybe you’ve been here, too.
Perhaps it feels like God let you down and abandoned you to navigate on your own.
Meanwhile, Scripture offers a different explanation. In Scripture, we often see that trouble is an indication of God’s presence, not his absence.
What we overlook in these moments of struggle is the reality that in Scripture, we often see that trouble is an indication of God’s presence, not his absence. Share on X
Here are a few examples:
1. John the Baptist spent his whole life calling God’s people to prepare for the coming of the Messiah.
His life came to an abrupt end when he was beheaded after being imprisoned for his boldness. It was preaching Christ that ushered him into the struggle that took his life.
2. The Apostle Paul spent the latter part of his ministry imprisoned for teaching others about Jesus.
We don’t know how much persecution he endured as a devout Jew, but I’d be willing to speculate that his boldness for Christ brought more trouble than his boldness for Jewish law. The presence of Christ in his life marked struggle.
3. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was engaged to a loving man and preparing to share her life with him when the presence of Jesus turned her world upside down.
She was suddenly unmarried and expecting a child. The presence of Christ in her life marked a difficult season of trusting God as she carried the Messiah within her very own body.
The list could go on and on.
When Your Life Feels Like One Refining Fire After Another
I didn’t preach a sermon to the friend who asked if I ever felt like God had left me.
Instead, I told her that I spent much of my younger years wondering if God had left me.
My life felt like one refining fire after another. I wondered if God had abandoned me when that dream didn’t work out, that relationship fell apart, and that friendship went awry.
Sadly, I believed the lie that God had abandoned me. I decided that if he wasn’t going to stick to his promise about staying with me forever, then I was going to live however I wanted. If God didn’t hold up his end of the deal, I wasn’t holding up mine.
My friend listened with questioning eyes, and she asked how that worked out.
“Not well. Not well at all. Those were the most painful years of my life,” I replied.
Your Refining Fires in Life Are an Indication of This . . .
Nevertheless, during that painful season, I began to grasp a Truth that would change my life forever.
I learned that trials aren’t indications that God has abandoned me; more often, trials are indications that God’s presence is very near.
It’s worth examining our hearts and our lives when trials and troubles come.
We are wise to ask hard questions about whether we’re living in intentional areas of disobedience to God. At times, trials are God’s way of gently disciplining us and leading us back into his love.
However, once we’ve examined our hearts and been honest about our sins, it’s important to remember that trials often come because we live in a broken world with a real enemy.
There are times when troubles come simply because there is an adversary out to stop us.
Looking back on our autumn of troubles, I now realize that our trials weren’t a sign that God had abandoned our family. Instead, they were a sign that he was about to open a new door of breakthrough and influence.
He was about to open new doors in my writing career, and the troubles were merely stumbling blocks leading me to give up.
I’m thankful to say that I didn’t give up, and we made it through the difficult season.
Encouragement for Your Hard Seasons
Dear friend, when the refining fire settles upon your life, guard your heart against the lie that God has abandoned you. God promises that he will never abandon his children (see Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5, Matthew 28:20).
He is with you in this fire, and he will never leave your side. Turn to him. He will carry you when you are too weak to keep walking.
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