Through the Fire



Ouch! On Christmas I burned my right hand on the stove. It really hurt! We've all been there. Fire is very beautiful but...oh how it can burn. This fire that burns so hot is also so great in refining...We can put gold and silver into the fire to refine it, to take out the impurities and make it more pure. In comparison the Bible describes us being refined in the fire (Psalm 66:10). God purposely places us, His dearly loved children, in the fire of affliction, pain, despair...etc. Why? What could be His purpose? Well if we look at what fire does to gold we see the Master's purpose-it refines us, makes us more like Him, less like ourselves and our sinful nature. How does it do that exactly?
I'm sure you can attest to times in your life, maybe recently, that you have been in terrible pain, like the affliction will never end. You may have continually gone to the Lord, seeking comfort. You see, God may want to wake you up out of your complacency! It may have been awhile since you noticed the Lord or prayed to Him. Getting our eyes off of ourselves and onto Christ is a huge reason for the refinement. Zechariah 13:9 answers this:

And I will put (them) into the fire,
and refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
and I will answer them.

 So the things that really stick out in this verse is that first off God is the one that PUTS us into this fire. Yes, our loving God allows us to be tested and afflicted. And what happens is that His children TURN to HIM. Amen!

Are you, in your pain, turning to Christ? He is there, waiting. He loves you and has a purpose in your pain! He is good all the time. Thanks be to the Lord that He hears our cry. 

Immanuel

Merry Christmas to you. I know it is a hard time of year for those of us with chronic pain...All the shopping, interacting, demands on us, etc. It can become overwhelming. Tonight I want to reconnect you with the meaning of our lives...this baby, this God-man, our Savior-Immanuel who is God with us.
I love Spurgeon. If you've never read his works I highly suggest you break open a book by him. He loved the Lord and brings God freshly to life! I have included a part of one of his sermons for your reflection. I pray your Christmas is pain free, but if it is not, I pray your eyes stay on our Immanuel.

Here is the link. My favorite part is when he says,

"God with us," is the sufferer's comfort, is the balm of his woe, is the alleviation of his misery, is the sleep which God gives to His beloved, is their rest after exertion and toil.


God bless you!


Christmas with Chronic Pain



A fellow sufferer of chronic pain has a great blog post about dealing with pain while everyone else is merry. You can get to it HERE.

Thanks JoJo!


God bless!

Expiration date!

Sooo, you know that moment you open the refrigerator and take out your favorite food only to find out it expired the day before? Not happy moments, but there is one expiration date that will forever, and I do mean forever, be a happy day! Let's hear from John about this amazing day in our future-

Revelation 21:4
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Praise God! I look forward to this day when my pain will expire! There will be no more crying or pain. Can you fathom such a day? Don't Waste your pain today thinking and dwelling on your pain. Keep your eyes focused on Him and just remember...Today you are one day closer to that final day when all things will be made new including these brittle bodies we have. 

God bless you! 




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