William McKinley served in Congress before he was elected the 25^th President of the United States.  On his way to his congressional office one morning, he boarded a streetcar and took the only remaining seat.  Minutes later, a woman who appeared to be ill boarded the car.  Unable to find a seat, she clutched an overhead strap next to one of McKinley’s colleagues.  The other congressman hid behind his newspaper and did not offer the woman his seat.  McKinley walked up the aisle, tapped the woman on the shoulder, offered her his seat, and took her place in the aisle.

Years later when McKinley was President, this same congressman was recommended to him for a post as ambassador to a foreign nation.  McKinley refused to appoint him.  He feared a man who didn’t have the courtesy to offer his seat to a sick woman in a crowded streetcar would lack the courtesy and sensitivity necessary to be an ambassador in a troubled nation.  The disappointed congressman bemoaned his fate to many in Washington but never did learn why McKinley chose someone else for the position.

Galations 6:7 cautions us: Do not be deceived.  God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows. In other words, actions have consequences. Charles Stanley put it this way: “We cannot sow crabgrass and expect to reap pineapples.”

In the 1970’s my husband was playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic.  The manager of the team was Tommy Lasorda, the then-manager of the Los Angeles’ Dodgers.  One evening at dinner he shared that when he was twelve years old, he attended a baseball game, but before it started, he approached a player and asked for an autograph.  Cursing at Tommy, the player told him to buzz off.  One decade later when Lasorda was pitching in the minor leagues, he faced that same major leaguer who was in AAA on a rehabilitation assignment.  Lasorda threw at his head.  Everyone knew it was intentional.  Later when the player asked Lasorda what he had done to deserve that, Tommy answered, “You should know,” and walked away.

Actions have consequences. We over-eat and health issues arise.  We spoil our kids and end up with…well, spoiled adults. We think only of ourselves and end up friendless.  We drink and drive and someone dies.  We do drugs and our family suffers.  We love money (or anything, for that matter) more than God and judgment day won’t be pretty.

Unfortunately, some people don’t learn from their mistakes.  They live by the philosophy that they can sow wild oats all week and then go to church on Sunday morning and pray for a crop increase.  Galations 6:8 addresses the seriousness of the issue.  For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life. The laws of the harvest cannot be mocked.  Our hearts need to be fertile ground for planting seeds and not weeds.  The choice is ours.  Which shall it be?

 

Keys to the Kingdom

 

 

After I snipped off the extra satin-covered button from my pastel-blue sweater, I placed it in my button box. In comparison to my Mom’s button collection, mine is considerably smaller. I store my buttons in a little round plastic margarine container that’s probably 40 years old. As I removed the lid, I pondered as to why there were so few buttons in it. And then I realized that, back in the day, women salvaged buttons from worn-out clothing because they were still functional, useable, and valuable. Mom’s buttons are displayed in a glass container in my daughter’s bedroom. One lace-covered button is from the pastel-blue suit she wore to my brother’s wedding in 1967. I wish that button could talk.

 

If our walk with Christ has become worn-out or hum-drum, we can fix that. There’s still something useful and valuable in our spirit; so we simply need to take the necessary steps to renew it. The apostle Paul told his young protégé, Timothy, to stir up the flame. “This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you” (2 Timothy 1:6 NLT). Smoldering Christians are to take the genuine faith they’ve got and develop it into a strong blazing fire of faith and service.

 

How? Don’t chuck church, ditch discipleship, or pass on prayer. Instead, poke the coals and stoke the fire. When the flame of faith is rekindled, we can walk in love, serve in joy, and rest in peace. As Christ’s followers, it’s up to us to stir up our faith so we can truly believe that God is working things out for our good. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them” (Romans 8:28 NLT). Let’s remember not to omit the latter  portion of this scripture, “and are called according to His purpose for them.“

 

My late husband loved to build a fire in the winter. That responsibility has now fallen to me; I can’t say that I love to build it, but I love the comfort of a hot burning fire. It’s worth the effort to get the results. If we will stir it up, God will finish it. “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6 NLT). God does the work in us, but we’ve got to give Him some live coals to work with.

 

It’s no easy task to keep the fire burning hot enough to sustain a cozy temperature in the house. It takes diligence to stay on top of your spiritual journey too. “Without faith, it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to God. For whoever would come near to God must necessarily believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him out” (Hebrews 11:6 AMP).

 

Paul writes and encourages Timothy: “For I recall the sincere faith which is in your heart — a faith which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and then in your mother Eunice, and, I am fully convinced, now dwells in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5 WNT). Paul makes it clear that Timothy is blessed to be walking in his godly heritage, but his belief and trust comes from his own genuine, sincere, and solid faith. He alone is responsible for building and maintaining a strong faith and carrying out his calling.

 

The Key: Salvage the faith you’ve got and be diligent to burn strong and hot.

A visiting pastor attended a men’s breakfast in the middle of a rural farming area.  The group had asked an older farmer, decked out in bib overalls, to say grace for the morning breakfast.

“Lord, I hate buttermilk,” the farmer began. The visiting pastor opened one eye to glance at the farmer and wonder where this was going. The farmer loudly proclaimed, “Lord, I hate lard.” Now the pastor was growing concerned. Without missing a beat, the farmer continued, “And Lord, you know I don’t much care for raw white flour.” The pastor once again opened an

eye to glance around the room and saw that he wasn’t the only one to feel uncomfortable.

Then the farmer added, “But Lord, when you mix them all together and bake them, I do love warm fresh biscuits. So, Lord, when things come up that we don’t like, when life gets hard, when we don’t understand what you’re saying to us, help us to just relax and wait until you are done mixing. It will probably be even better than biscuits. Amen.”

I have to wonder if God isn’t doing a little blending in America. A country that started off so strong has taken a turn that (hopefully) is teaching us much, mainly that God remains in charge.  He is fully capable of making warm, fresh biscuits out of some pretty unpalatable ingredients, and yes, some of us require a little more kneading than others.                                     So, if we agree that this blending is our answer, then  2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV gives us instructions on our goal: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear. 

To do that, we need to make Ps. 139:23-24 our daily/hourly prayer.  Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting.

Examining our own hearts is pointless, no doubt because we will find a way to justify our evil actions/attitudes. After all, we haven’t killed anyone.  We didn’t loot stores or throw iced water at the police officers.  We merely sat in our comfy living rooms and watched on television as the wickedness of someone else’s heart played out.  But that’s not what God calls us to do.  He wants us to lay our ugly hearts at His throne and ask Him to reveal any wickedness in us (even though it is so much more our nature to find the wickedness in others).

Get that?  Any wickedness.  Any times when we have remained silent and not spoken out against bigotry and violence.  Any times we have secretly celebrated payback between our race and theirs.  Any times we have allowed others’ prejudiced behavior to affect ours.  Any times we have not asked God to help us examine our hearts, to call our wickedness into account and to change our ways.

Last year I watched Just Mercy, the true story of Harvard law school graduate Bryan Stevenson’s defense of wrongly condemned Walter McMillian who was sentenced to die for the murder of an 18-year-old girl.  Stevenson quickly learned that in the South, he, a black man, was himself a target, simply because of the color of his skin.

Refusing to return hate for hate, he founded the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama.  He and his staff have won reversals or release from prison for over 135 wrongly condemned death row prisoners and won relief for hundreds of others wrongly convicted or unfairly sentenced.  Black and white.  Blending at its finest.

If God is stirring something in your heart like He is mine, then we need to agree to be part of the blending process.  Granted, we’ve come a long way, but until we determine what we can do to make a difference, we will have a long way to go.

 

 

 

 

Keys to the Kingdom
By Carolyn Tucker
Squirrel with a Mission

It was a beautiful day and I was walking down my lane when I heard a strange noise. It was in the rhythm of using a handsaw but with a squeaking sound (E e E e E e). I didn’t see anything on the ground, so I looked up and there he was. One of my cute furry friends sitting on a limb, working on a hard black-walnut shell trying to get to the nut goodie. He was on a meal mission and nothing I did or said caused any reaction from him. Yes, I talked to the squirrel in a loud voice and he totally ignored me. (That’s how I know he was a male and not a female. A female would have chattered back to me.) I was impressed with his razor-sharp teeth and undeterred determination.

Christ followers need perseverance like my little friend. He was holding a treasure in his tiny hands and he would not stop gnawing on that nut! He could not be distracted or scared away because he knew he was safely out of my reach. I could have yelled at him until I lost my voice but it wouldn’t have done any good. So I gave up and left him alone.

The Book of Job is not one of my favorite books in the Bible, but it does have valuable lessons for us. I like the very beginning where Job is described as a blessed man of complete integrity who feared God, stayed away from evil, and was the finest man in all the earth. The middle section wears me out with 40 chapters of deep depression and worthless friends. And Job admits to speaking amiss: “…I was talking about things I knew nothing about. …now I have seen You with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance” (Job 42:3-6 NLT).

Satan and Job’s not-so-brilliant wife did their dead-level best to get Job to curse God and die. But even when Satan destroyed everything and struck Job with terrible boils from head to foot, Job proved himself to be true to God. Two times, Job proved Satan to be a liar: “Satan replied to the Lord, ’Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!’” (Job 1:9-11 NLT). But scripture proves that Job did not sin by blaming God for what Satan did.

Again, “Satan replied to the Lord, ’Skin for skin! A man will give up everything he has to save his life. But reach out and take away his health, and he will surely curse You to Your face!’” (Job 1:4-5 NLT). Satan did his worst and Job did his best. Obviously, God knew Job better than Satan did. The only way to go through calamity is to stick like glue to God. When we’re run through the ringer and come out standing, God is glorified.

The final chapter of Job’s misery (which Satan caused) ends when Job obeyed God and prayed for his three friends. “When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before. So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning“ (Job 42:10,12 NLT). We see the awesome power of prayer right here. Job lived 140 more years and died an old man who had lived a long, full, and blessed life. And he probably got a new wife too.

The Key: Come hell or high water, be an undeterred Christ follower.

I find it difficult to be around married couples who constantly correct each other’s stories.  Recently, Dave and I spent a couple of days with such a twosome. They both love the Lord and are bold in their faith, but that didn’t keep them from annoying me.

Conversations went like this:

He: So, we were on a 32-foot houseboat when we nearly rolled over.  We were…

She: It was a 30-foot houseboat.

He: Okay, but we were terrified that the storm—that came fast and out of nowhere…

She: We had a warning.  We saw the clouds in the distance but didn’t know it was as bad as it was.

He: You’re thinking of the time we were in our sailboat and we…

She:  No.  Remember, we had Jenn with us and she was five years old and she was hiding under the kitchen table.  The sailboat was another time.

He: No, it wasn’t.  When the lightning flashed, we were alone on the 32-foot houseboat.

My head was ping-ponging back and forth as I attempted to make eye contact with the person speaking.

The fact was, I didn’t care what kind or size of boat they were on.  I could see the frustration in the husband’s face who couldn’t say anything without being admonished.

The wife, for some reason, didn’t seem to mind as much when she was set straight.

But I did.

I understand that we are to love those who frustrate us, but is there a point where we speak up…in love, of course?  Usually, I can make a joke to point out other’s offensive behaviors, but if they aren’t close friends, is that my place?

Our goal is to become more like Christ.  To “nit-pick” makes us nothing like him. So, shouldn’t I help this couple by pointing out how annoying their pattern is and how they will never have really close friends because they are so irritating? I need wise counsel on this.  I turn to God’s Word.

As I search Scripture for answers, I am directed to Matthew 7:3-5: Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Not the resolution I’m seeking, but I shouldn’t be surprised.

It seems that every time I set out to correct someone else’s flaws, I have to look in a mirror.  This time, however, I can disregard Matthew’s writing because correcting my hubby is not one of my problems.

Dave and I are to go to dinner with this couple tonight.  We discuss ways we can address this annoyance.

“Dave, maybe I could just come out and say, ‘Remember when you brought up the 32-foot houseboat that almost rolled over and were immediately set straight?”

“Well, Patty, you could do that, except the conversation started with his wife talking about an almost-accident she had on a jet ski when the storm came in.”

“Absolutely did not happen that way.  Remember she said it was 30-feet long?

“Maybe we’re not the ones who should try and help.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

 

 

Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

 

In 50 years of driving, only one vehicle proved to be a disappointment. She looked good on the outside, but the problem was under the hood. In my opinion, this vehicle should never have rolled off the assembly line! The car was just fine sitting in the garage doing nothing. But when the rubber met the road, she had no power for passing gear. She couldn’t run a quarter mile much faster than a tortoise because the body was too heavy for the itty-bitty engine, making her performance annoying and unsafe.

 

Christ followers are in a race, not a competition of comparison against one another, to cross the finish line just inside the pearly gates. There are no tricks or shortcuts in this race, but there is a participant’s handbook known as the Holy Bible. The writer of Hebrews states, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:1,2 NLT). We should be encouraged to know that Jesus has done everything necessary to ensure that we can cross the finish line by grace if we persevere in faith.

 

Do we realize that the Old Testament saints have passed their batons to us and they’re  sitting in the grandstands cheering us on? My brother, who finished his race over a year ago, has a track record that was never broken at the Stockton High School. The only casual race I ran and won was in PE when the coach told us to run to the first boat dock and back. I remember seeing the finish line and giving it all I had. It was just enough to break Patsy’s record by only a few seconds. Physical and spiritual races are run with enduring perseverance without any weights to hold us back.

 

In World War II, Doolittle’s Raiders had to strip those heavy B-25s down to the bare necessities in order to get them off the carrier. They did something that had never been done before, and it worked. The pilots and crew members understood that their lives were at stake if they didn’t remove the weight that would actually kill them. We don’t want our lives to be too cluttered and clunky in order to move forward in a satisfactory manner. We need clean hands and a pure heart to run this race — in fact, we’ll be disqualified without them. “Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies…will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their Savior” (Psalm 24:4,5 NLT). The blood of Jesus, pure motives, right actions, exclusive dedication to God, and inner integrity are qualifiers to enter the race.

 

Only you and God know what specific junk could be weighing you down, holding you back, and cluttering your spiritual race. Be aware that believers are sometimes weighed down with trying to do too many good things which can cause us to lose our joy. We must use wisdom in order to experience the freedom to run victoriously without collapsing from exhaustion.

 

The Key: Strip off any weights dragging you down and finish the faith race you started.

My sorority reunion was last week in Grove, Oklahoma. Catching up is always fun, but it had been a tough year for two of the other five gals, as one is struggling to keep her business open, and two months ago, “Sharon,” our wheelchair-bound friend, had watched her husband, “Bryan,” choke to death on a piece of steak at her independent living, five-star restaurant. We knew about his death but not all of the facts surrounding his death.

The recently-hired administrator apparently had instructed all the dining personnel never to use life-saving measures.  Only the nurses on duty could do so.  The trouble was, he had fired 30 of them when he took over–in order to save money–and none were on duty.

My friend screamed for help as she watched her husband slump in his seat.  The chef was called but also refused to help. Finally, a porter ran into the restaurant and attempted to pick Bryan up under his arms, but that only caused more problems because of a recently-installed pacemaker.  Within four minutes, paramedics arrived, but it was too late.  The E.R. personnel were able to dislodge the piece of steak.

In the care facility, news spread that Sharon’s husband had suffered a heart attack.  She knew the administrator was trying to cover his hide because of his irrational policy.  Two weeks ago, a scheduled meeting was held to discuss any issues residents had.  My friend attended and asked why they weren’t telling the truth about her husband, that he had choked and not suffered cardiac arrest.  The question was avoided, but the next day, when Sharon tried to watch the YouTube recording of the event, her question had been edited out.  Apparently, residents not present at the meeting were not to know the truth.

My girlfriends and I sat stunned as we learned of the horror our friend had witnessed. She shared that since then, all restaurant personnel have had training in C.P.R. and the Heimlich.  Life-vacs have been purchased and are in each of the five dining rooms. Sharon was grateful for that.  She also has contacted an attorney about the lies being told.  We were grateful for that.

Some of you readers might have a story of someone’s incompetence (maybe even your own) that changed your life forever. The memory of it makes you shudder. The fact is, this is a fallen world.  I picture Satan celebrating when Bryan died, hoping it would destroy Sharon’s faith. It hasn’t worked.  She, a devout Christian, knowing that her husband was a Christian, has found peace, as she is confident that she someday will see him again.

Yesterday, I texted Sharon and asked how she was doing.  This was her response.  “Sometimes, I sob, but I cling to 1 Thessalonians 13,14: Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”

May we all have that kind of faith.

 

Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker

 

 

If I wake up during the night, I don’t usually look at the clock. But when I wake up later in the morning and feel that it might be time to “get up and at ‘em,” I’ll check the time. One morning I turned my head to see what time it was and I saw 6:35:35. I thought, “Oh my stars and garters, I’m cross-eyed like Clarence the lion on Daktari!“ I hadn’t thought of that TV show since the last time I saw it in 1969. I loved watching Daktari because of my two favorite characters Clarence (the cross-eyed lion) and his adorable cohort Judy (the mischievous chimp). I don’t know why I was seeing cross-eyed other than the fact that I’ve celebrated a lot of birthdays since 1969. Since I don’t sleep with my glasses on, maybe I should buy a digital clock with bigger numbers.

 

The older I get, the more I appreciate this scripture: “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely” (1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT). Sometimes believers have a tendency to get hung up on what we don’t know rather than what we do know. So why did the cookie crumble that way? Well, when push comes to shove, does it really matter?  The cookie still crumbled and I can’t do anything about it. It’s done, it crumbled, and I’m not God.

 

If we stay the course and practice living and loving like Jesus, scripture tells us we’ll understand all things by and by. If we focus on things we won’t ever understand in this life, that prevents us from focusing on the things we do understand. When the expert in religious law asked Jesus a question, it was supposed to be a trap; however, it turned out to be one of the most profound impromptu question-and-answer sessions in the Word of God. “’Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?’ Jesus replied, ’You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments’” (Matthew 22:37-40 NLT).

 

Jesus spoke many times in parables, but this legalistic man’s question was answered in straightforward transparency. Jesus’ answer was so easy, even a cave man can understand it. It’s doubtful there’s one person on planet earth that totally understands everything in the Book of Revelation. However, those two most-important commandments can be seen with perfect clarity through the eyes of a receptive heart. The Good Shepherd’s words recorded in the passage of Matthew can’t be misunderstood, but they can be ignored.

 

Certainly there are things that have happened in the lives of my loved ones that I don’t understand. However, I do understand that I have finite thinking and my ways are not always God’s ways. I’m not on His level, and that‘s why I use my faith to completely trust Him. Some day I’ll know why things happened as they did, so for now I focus my spiritual eyes on the two most-important commandments and my personal calling. And that, dear friends, is a full-time assignment with a retirement that‘s out of this world.

 

The Key: Keep focusing on Jesus and, in the end, you’ll eventually know everything you ever wanted to know.

When I was young, I loved reading “Dear Abby,” especially advice on how to deal with a rude neighbor or an inattentive boyfriend or a bratty child.

I, of course, didn’t need Abby.  I had my friends.  “You don’t have to put up with that.” “Try out for cheerleader.” “Get a credit card.” “Just call in sick.” “Stop being so nice.”  “Don’t let your mom know.” “Marry for money; love will follow.” “Stick up for yourself.” “You’re better than that.” “Let’s sneak away to Oklahoma.”  “It’s just marijuana” (one piece of advice I never, praise God, followed). “It’s the thought that counts” (said by a friend, consoling me over the weed eater Dave bought me for my birthday).

I wasn’t exactly a wild child, but I sure did some bone-headed things, and rarely did I seek wise counsel.  (By the grace of God am I alive to write this article.)  How times have changed!  Now that I am older, I am very careful about the advice I receive. Now, I am picky about whom I ask for help.  Now, I make sure my advice-givers are God-followers. To do that, they need to know the Bible.

For good reason, the Bible is called a “lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” My friends who know scripture guide me according to its principles, principles that instruct me about forsaking pride and choosing love. Psalm 32:8 is a reminder of who  should mentor me: I (God) will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.  But let’s face it—bad advice is not in short supply.

My book A Little Faith Lift…Finding Joy Beyond Rejection came out a few weeks ago.  In it, three women tell their stories, women who were advised by our high school counselor that they weren’t smart enough to attend college, much less major in their desired fields.  All graduated with advanced degrees but never forgot the degrading “tip” they had been given.  Only because they had encouraging parents did they forge ahead, ignoring what they had been told.  But what about those who had no such counsel?

The problem with advice, of course, is that well-intentioned people can make mistakes.

There is one story in scripture that reeks of poor advice.  Job, tempted by Satan, is being counseled by his pals and wife as to why God turned against him and forced him to suffer. Not once do his pals admit that they might not really know the answer. They are adamant in their criticism. They are wrong.  Pastor Andy Cook studied Job and recommended we always ask these questions of human counsel:

1.  Is it biblical?

2.  Is it factual?

3.  Is it necessary?

4.  Is it teachable?

5.  Does it acknowledge the imperfections of human counsel?

6.  Is it spoken in love?

I’m wiser than I used to be. I understand the importance of good advice. I now know how little I know, so I am reluctant to tell someone what to do…unless, of course, my answer meets those six qualifications…or it involves a weed eater as a gift.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker

 

 

In the ups and downs, little or much, laughter and tears, joy and sorrow — through it all, I‘ve never been or felt abandoned. I’m certainly acquainted with sorrow and grief, but they’re not my friends. I don’t hang out with them, nor invite them to pull up a chair and stay in my heart. I’ve learned how to biblically journey through stuff and experience joy again. I’m just going to go out on a limb like a squirrel with a nut and say that if you live long enough, you’ll have ample opportunity to get burned by the heartaches of life.

 

We understand the difference between getting burned while removing brownies from the oven, and ultimately being burned up. The following scripture has been a favorite of mine since I was in my early 20s: “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2 NLT). Notice there are three “whens” and no “ifs.” So when life runs us through the ringer, we can come out standing up while holding onto the Savior’s nail-scarred hand. Remember, if we never had any trouble, we wouldn’t need any faith.

 

No matter what season we’re in, we’re not alone. Believers are always cradled in the arms of Jesus. It’s possible to come out of the tough seasons not even smelling like smoke. It’s one thing not to catch on fire, but it’s ramped to the next level to not even smell of smoke after walking through the fire of trouble. “So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!” (Daniel 3:26-27 NLT). These uncompromising boys weren’t kept from the blazing fire, but they were lovingly preserved through the fire.

 

There are several striking lessons in this Old Testament account but, for me personally,  that Fourth Person that showed up in the fire is the best. The Hebrew boys were in the fire, but they weren’t alone. Jesus was right there in the middle of the heat with them. This is a visual of reassurance for us today that we’re never alone or abandoned in our darkest and hottest hour. When the roaring flames are licking at our soul, the One who died and rose again to make us whole is as close as the mention of His Name.

 

Jesus is always bigger than our troubles and trials. But it’s our job to lay hold of this truth and tighten our belt of sweet trust in Jesus. So, if nothing is too big for Him, why allow Satan to kick us when we’re up and kick us when we’re down? It’s an unwise decision to side with the enemy and just roll over and play dead with our front teeth missing.  Focusing on Jesus and magnifying His power puts our eyes on the Problem Solver rather than the intense heat of the circumstances. And when the trial is over and times are good again, it’s important to keep that death grip on Jesus because we need Him through thick and thin. My late husband had underlined the following scripture in his Bible:

 

The Key: “Here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Don’t give up; don’t be impatient; be entwined as one with the Lord. Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope. Yes, keep on waiting — for He will never disappoint you!” (Psalm 27:14 TPT).