He Is With You In The Fire
God’s Word is filled with rich promises for His children. How do these “precious and very great promises” inform and direct your grief? How does keeping your eyes fixed on these truths anchor your hope in the Lord? In this series, we write about how God, through the promises in His Word, comforts and strengthens us in our sorrow.
I grew up going camping, and part of the experience is building a fire. We would often huddle around the fire-pit and feed in small sticks and dried leaves hoping the flame would grow. As the flame consumed the small twigs and leaves, we added bigger and bigger logs until the fire raged so hot we often had to move our chairs away from the fire-pit ringed with large stones.
The fire gave us warmth in the cool mountains and light in the dark of the night. The large stones making up the ring of the fire-pit contained the fire. We sat around the pit watching the flames grow and dance into the night sky. Often, the loud roar of the fire covered our conversations, and we sat quietly staring into the glowing flames.
The containment of the fire in the pit made us feel safe as we sat around it. But not all fires are contained. I’ve lived where forest fires roared through valleys and across mountaintops. The images of flames engulfing entire forests linger.
Grief often feels like an out of control forest fire, ravaging everything in its path. It threatens to overcome and overwhelm. Grief often feels out of control—taking on a life of its own. We try to run from the fire of grief to a place of safety.
Isaiah 43:2 promises us when we walk through fire we will not get burned, and the flames will not consume us. What I love about this promise is it assumes we will walk through fire—or difficult times. It isn’t an if, it’s a when.
Isaiah 43:2 also promises us that the Lord will be with us in difficult times—in our grief—so we are not burned.
“When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.” Isaiah 43:2
When we lose a child, the flames of grief threaten to engulf us, but we aren’t alone in our grief. The Lord is with us. And He was with three other faithful followers of God named Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. They refused to bow down and worship King Nebuchadnezzar, so he had them bound and thrown into a fiery furnace he ordered heated seven times the normal amount. But then…
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”
They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
“Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Daniel 3:24-25
Jesus was with the three men in the fire! And He will be with you in your fire. In your fire of grief. That is His promise.
When we first lose a child, the fire feels like a consuming forest fire advancing towards us and threatening to engulf us. But the Lord is there with us, and if we let Him lead us, we will be safe. We will not be consumed.
I lost my son nearly 25 years ago, and the engulfing flames have died down. Now, it feels like I’m sitting around a warm campfire—contained within the large stones encircling the fire-pit. The flames have disappeared, and the fire is now gently warming the coals. I can feel the heat, but I don’t fear being consumed by the flames.
When I stir the fire, I see the bright red coals and the heat intensifies. That is how I feel when those anniversary dates come around or someone makes an insensitive remark. Yes, that still happens after all these years.
As I sit by the fire, with the fading heat from the coals, I can envision Jesus sitting next to me, handing me a long stick with a marshmallow on it and saying, “Here. You want to make a s’more?” And we sit there in peace letting the fire that once threatened to overwhelm and overcome, offer comfort. The fire of grief never goes away—it subsides and changes.
When we let the Lord walk through the flames of grief with us, we come out on the other side unburned.
How do we walk through the fire with Jesus? If you already know Him as your Savior, take His hand by reading His Word and spending time in prayer and worship. If you haven’t already asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, you can do that today. Romans 10:9 tells us, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Dear Mama, I pray you let the Lord lead you through the fire of grief and get to the place where you are sitting around a warm fire with Jesus—making s’mores—letting the glow of the embers warm you.
- Shelly
Hope Mom to Zachary Robert
Shelly D. Templin is an author, speaker and blogger that shares a message of hope—with humor. She has three daughters, a son-in-law, and a granddaughter. Shelly lives in Texas with her husband, Jack, of 29 years and their two dogs.
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