We went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance (Psalms 66:12 NIV).
Some years ago, a friend taught me how to get unremovable stains out of my clothes by scrubbing the spot with detergent and then soaking the item in boiling water. It works great, but one day when I was in a hurry, I decided just to use tap water as hot as I could make it from the faucet. It didn’t work. Without the boiling water, the spots stubbornly remained.
God spoke to me through this incident. I had been questioning Him about the fiery trials some of my Christian friends and I were going through. Suddenly I understood that just as it takes boiling water to remove tough stains from our clothes, it sometimes takes fiery trials to remove our stubborn sins or attitudes that are deeply ingrained.
None of us enjoy suffering, and certainly not all suffering is because of sin. Nevertheless, as I look back, I can see that I have grown the most through some of my most difficult experiences. Even though they’ve been painful, I can honestly say with the psalmist David, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted” (Ps. 119:71 KJV).
Father, thank you for loving me enough to turn up the heat! Amen.
(Devotional from Homespun Faith, Reflections from the Seasons of Life, copyright 2014 Daisy Beiler Townsend. Original title: God’s Provision. Available as paperback or Ebook: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Xulon Press. There are Links on this website on the Where to Buy Homespun Faith and Sarah’s Legacy page. Locally at Fresh Grounds, M & M Grocery, Leana’s Books, Penn Alps in Grantsville, Maryland, or from me 724-373-8445 or donaisy@neo.rr.com.)