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9th April 2024
WednesdayReflection
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Vaneetha Rendall Risner
the author of several books
'The Precious Furnace of
Affliction'
Isaiah 48 v 10
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"I have tested you in the fire of suffering,
as silver is refined in a furnace."
Ten years ago, the furnace of affliction burned hotter than normal.
Suddenly a single parent, my life became a waking nightmare.
I cried myself to sleep every night.
My daughters were living with sorrow that manifested itself in various destructive ways.
My body was failing.
Some days I struggled to even dress myself.
I didn't know who to confide in, and I doubted if talking would help anyway.
No one could fix this for me.
No one could fix any of it.
And today, though I'm not in a season of that kind of intense pain, people whom I love are suffering.
How can they endure? How did I endure?
God refines us in the fire.
The flames in our life sanctify us and draw us to God in ways that nothing else can.
We emerge with a stronger faith and an unrivalled dependence on him.
But the process isn't easy.
What does the Christian life look like in the furnace?
I know God is my only hope, so I need to engage with him.
So, I get up in the morning, pull out my Bible, and start talking to God.
I talk to him about my fears. My anxiety.
What I want him to do.
I pore over the Scripture passage I am reading, looking for promises to claim.
Something, anything, to cling to.
When I do that, I notice that I'm breathing normally.
I can laugh. I have hope. I feel weightless.
Nothing matters but God.
He shows me things I've never seen before.
I start underlining my Bible everywhere -
God is talking to me.
I sit and listen.
Sometimes I am still, taking in the holiness of the moment.
Other times I scribble furiously in my journal, trying to capture all that God is saying.
All of Scripture is alive with promises and hope.
Passages I've read before, that I've passed by in my hurry to get through my "quiet time," take on new meaning.
Now, I linger over them. Savour them.
They are as honey in my mouth - the sweetest things I will taste all day.
They sustain me.
I begin to understand Jeremiah 15:16 in ways I never have before:
"Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart."
When I wasn't in the furnace of affliction, those words had little meaning.
But now those words are life.
I cannot adequately describe those moments.
Time almost stands still.
I feel more alive here than anywhere else.
I want to stay here forever, beholding the beauty of the Lord.
But I need to start my day, so eventually I close the Bible, push my chair back, and prepare for what the day holds.
As I go about my day, sometimes I forget God is with me.
I listen to what people are telling me.
I listen to the negative things I'm telling myself.
I finally understand what it means to be connected to God all day long.
><(((°>
This is an edited version.
The full article is avaiable on request
Vaneetha Rendall Risner
is the author of several books, including Watching for the Morning:
90 Devotionals for When Hope Is Hard to Find.
She and her husband, Joel, live in Raleigh, where she shares on her website about Christ's unwavering presence in suffering.
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