Last weekend I was able to visit Georgia for the first time since John and I got married. Between my 25th birthday, Mother’s Day, and my youngest brother getting baptized, the weekend was full of joy and celebration. But in the midst of all of this, I also had the opportunity to celebrate the life of a good friend who passed away.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first young life the Flowery Branch/Johnson community has had to bury this year. Our community has lost some great people; people who were friends, family, significant others, sons. It’s tragic, and each time I know I personally have thought to myself and prayed, “God, please wake me up from this nightmare. This can’t be real. I don’t think my heart can take another loss”, and I know I’m not the only one.
I had heard beautiful stories of the funerals that had followed these losses, but this was the first I was able to experience first hand. I was, and still am, amazed at the strength of the families who have lost their loved ones. I’m amazed at the faith it takes to point others to Jesus in the midst of what is probably the hardest thing they’ve ever and will ever go through. And I’m amazed at the ability our community has had to comfort each other, to pray for each other and to truly love each other. But that’s what a relationship with Jesus does, right? It compels us to help, comfort, and love one another. It gives us hope, even in the most tragic of circumstances.
I was reminded recently of a story in the book of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar created an idol, and commanded that all the people bow down and worship this idol, lest they be thrown into a pit of fire and burn to death. When they heard the sound, everyone fell to their knees- everyone with the exception of three people. These three men were brought before the king, and were asked once more to bow down and worship this idol. They refused.
We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from your hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.
-Daniel 3:16-18
As the army soldiers tied up the three men and threw them in, the fire was so large it immediately killed the soldiers and the three men fell into the flames. The king then looked into the fire, and could see four men walking around, unbound and unharmed. Nebuchadnezzar ordered the men to come back out of the fire, and the three men walked out, with not even a hair singed by the flame. When the king saw this, he began praising the God of these three men, who had sent an angel to rescue them from this fiery death.
These three men didn’t know how, but they knew that God would rescue them. They knew that He had the ability to allow them to walk away unharmed. But they also knew that even if they died, their souls would be in the presence of God Himself. Their faith was not swayed by the circumstances that surrounded them because they knew that regardless of their situation, God’s promises don’t change.
Reading this passage in scripture, I was reminded of a few things about the God we serve:
He is able.
He is greater than our circumstances.
His goodness is not contingent on my current situation.
I also was reminded that, as a believer, my reaction to a seemingly hopeless situation should look different than that of an unbeliever. And the faith that I have in God during the most tragic situations can influence the faith of others around me.
Sometimes we allow ourselves to become so discouraged when God doesn’t change our situation like we want Him to. But what I’ve come to realize is that, yes, without Jesus, we’d burn alive. We wouldn’t make it. We can’t do it on our own. We couldn’t take another loss. But with Jesus, we are not hopeless. God doesn’t promise to save us from the flames; to simply pull us out of every tragic situation we face. But He has promised to be with us as we walk through the fire.
When we look around, we may only see disaster and heartbreak. The flames are surrounding us right now. But I’m choosing to believe that though the flames surround us, they cannot and will not harm us. I’m choosing to hold onto the hope that one day we will step out of the flames we’ve been walking through. And when we do, the people who once doubted God will be praising His name.
The Walking In Between 