Good As Gold – Refined by Fire
This all seems unfair because if you love God or Jesus then
that is what you feel and do and believe. Well, it doesn’t work like that. Often,
we get targeted just for being a Christian. All we have to know is that we can
trust that, ultimately, good will come out of it and we will be rewarded if we
endure.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The Father of compassion, and,
The God of all comfort
Who comforts us in all our troubles
So that we can comfort those in any trouble… 2 Cor 1:3-4.
There you have it. Just know where your comfort comes from.
My heart goes out to the people in Canada who are facing
devastating fires destroying their homes and livelihoods. I woke up this
morning with them on my mind. I want to comfort them like the scripture above
says I should.
Any comfort that I could offer would be shallow if I just
said, “I know what you are going through,” if I had not been in trouble myself.
I also needed comfort at times when I was suffering, and it usually seemed as
though comfort would never come.
Just a few examples here might illustrate my point
concerning troubled times – there are many more.
Once I stared down the barrel of a gun pointed at my head by
a would-be hijacker. Another time, I was mobbed by a group of youths who pinned
me down wanting to rob me in the city centre. One of them stood in front of me
wielding a knife with a long sharp blade with which he tried to stab me in my
chest repeatedly. His hand holding the knife went back and forth over and over
but he was unable to get it into my chest. It was as though something invisible
was restraining him. Then they all released me and ran off. I can only think
that it must have been my guardian angel that protected me and made himself
visible to them and they left in a great hurry. Real story.
Another time, I was in deep distress as sickness and pain
wracked my body. Walking towards the church entrance on a Sunday evening to join
the service I was feeling awful. An old man stopped me and asked if I was okay.
“No, I said.”
He took me to a very small closet and after closing the door
he started to pray for me. During his prayer it felt as though I was drifting
into another dimension. Then I felt something like being in a shower but
instead of water falling on my body goodness poured down on me and washed all
my aches and pains away. When I walked out of there after some time I was as
good as new. No more sore throat or headache or pain in every part of my body.
A wonderful experience – instantaneous healing. A miracle.
I couldn’t pray and asked God to teach me. Little by little
I made baby steps and tried that new gift on people who needed God’s help. I
did that all in secret because I didn’t want any attention. I just wanted God
to help them. That was when I discovered how much God loves people and He
wanted to use me to pray for them. Many people, many times. All the time He
must have had that in mind because I just wanted to learn how to pray. I didn’t
have anybody in mind. But He had a purpose for it in the end.
So, I had this awesome job at a big company, and I enjoyed
it tremendously. I was living my creative dream, and all was well. Then, one
day my boss called me in, and I was retrenched – let go. Now, 32 years later I
can say that God has looked after my wife and me. There are many stories there.
Just over three years ago I gained a big client and things looked really good.
But, with load shedding and changes I have lost three-quarters of my regular
monthly income in a short space of time.
I haven’t faced a fire that threatened my life and my home
but other similar situations where I was in trouble. I can write about these
things because I am still around to do so. One day I will complete my book
which will be full of the many times I was put through the fires that tested my
faith and endurance. Once things got so bad that I was tempted to curse God and
give up my faith in Him. Yes, the voice in my head was encouraging me to do
that. Fortunately, I decided not to do that.
Did things suddenly get better? No. Did my circumstances
suddenly improve? No. It took me years to just stand up and be normal again
after being knocked down repeatedly. I once watched a hilarious movie called
Galaxy Quest where movie actors were mistaken for superheroes by a small group
of aliens who were threatened by a terrible enemy that wanted to annihilate
them. Their motto was, “Never give up, never surrender.”
That became my motto from then onwards.
So, you are invited to my “Never give up, never surrender”
Club. Like John Dutton in the TV series Yellowstone who won’t sell his ranch
and land because of a promise made to an Indian, I invite you to remain loyal
to our Lord and be steadfast and unwavering in the face of all opposition even
unto death. When the devil threatens to take you to the train station, don’t
flinch. Just trust in God.
In the famous words of Alfred Lord Tennyson, “More things
are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.” I am not glorifying man. The
most amazing person walked this earth and promised that He spoke the truth and
that He would return one day. In the meantime, He is always at hand to help the
people He created. His name is Jesus, the Son of God. You can trust Him just
like I do. After all, 32 years (and still counting) is a long time. Bless you!
Thank you for reading my blog.
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