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).