Through the Fire

Some song lyrics I like. The title is "THROUGH THE FIRE." My favorite line is "My God will show up!" It's great too how it is emphasized in the actual singing of the song.


Another thought from the book, Do You Think I'm Beautiful by Angela Thomas--
The Israelites were facing the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian army behind them. They were willing to return to Egypt to not have to face the impossible. Thomas states that we would rather do anything than face the impossible, but this is where God works at his best-- the impossible! Like any of the Israelites would have ever thought "hey. .. if God would just move this water out of the way, then we'd be ok." This is what made me think of the line of that song, "My God will SHOW UP!"

10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."
Ex. 14:10-14

AND. . . I love the part of the song that says "He said help would always come in time"
Angela Thomas says that after the Israelites crossed the red sea to leave bondage in Egypt, they must have wondered why God waited so long to free them. But read this following verse:

“And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.” Ex. 14: 31

It was in His mercy that God wanted to show them how powerful He is to prove He is worth putting their trust in. Unbelievable love! And if He can part the Red Sea, surely He’s got our situations all under control.

The entire next chapter in Exodus is a song of Moses and Miriam rejoicing about God’s great power and what He did.



THROUGH THE FIRE. . .

So many times I’ve questioned certain circumstances
Or things I could not understand

Many times in trials, weakness blurs my vision
And my frustrations get so out of hand
It’s then I am reminded I’ve never been forsaken
I’ve never had to stand the test alone
As I look at all the victories, the Spirit rises up in me
It’s through the fire my weakness is made strong

And He never promised the cross would not get heavy and the hill would not be hard to climb
He never offered victory without fighting but
He said help would always come in time
Just remember when you’re standing in the valley of decision and the adversary says give in
Just hold on, our Lord will show up and He will take you through the fire again

I know within myself that I would surely perish
But if I trust the hand of God, He’ll shield the flames again
And He never promised the cross would not get heavy and the hill would not be hard to climb
Just hold on, our Lord will show up and He will take you through the fire again
Just hold on, our Lord will show up and He will take you through the fire again

It's all in Belonging

I read a great book last week called "Do You Think I'm Beautiful" by Angela Thomas. I'm not a good summarizer, so I won't even try. But, it is a great book... trust me!

One thing that got me thinking (and kind of socked me in the stomach), was near page 105, where she talks about women who think they are "no longer worthy." This is exactly what the prodigal son says to his father in Luke 15-
"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son."

Angela Thomas argues that we are not good enough and never will be. But our worth comes from BELONGING to Jesus Christ. That's it. We can do nothing to be worthy of Jesus' love.
Angela goes on to say that she's seen lives stay paralyzed in the land of "no longer worthy."

I love how God gave us the parallel of His relationship to us as our relationship to our children.
Isn't this true of our children (and a good reminder)-- we love them because they belong to us, not because they clean their rooms. And sometimes, we can slip into this. But, if we are going to attempt to portray Jesus' love for us, shouldn't our love come pouring out because they belong to us-- an unconditional love that they cannot earn (and should not have to)?

And not only is God's love for us a perfect, merciful love, but He reminds us over and over again how He has His grip on us so tight that NOTHING can separate us from His love.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

So, we should aim to stop do, do, doing and thinking that this is why He loves us or that this makes Him love us more and start enjoying Him and His love for us. May we mirror this to our children also. May they rest in the security of His love and ours.