When you walk through the fire you will not be burned Is 43:2

In my daily readings yesterday, this verse stood out to me. What I did not know was that an old emotional wound was going to be triggered by a small injustice. My emotional memory kicked in, and I found myself overwhelmed by hurts from the past. And I thought that that had healed!

As is my habit at times like this, I journaled. In psalm 142:2 David says “I poured out my complaints to the Lord.” As part of this journaling and as an attempt to get the obsessive thoughts out of my head I would write letters, and in fact I spent most of yesterday writing an email I would never send.

I often look at a daily prophetic word that comes automatically into my inbox, and this morning the word was “Breaking out of old thinking and habits will be necessary, but not necessarily easy.” I immediately wanted to apply this to my protagonist, but the Lord had other ideas. He was showing me that I was not pouring my complaint out to Him but to the one who had offended me (but they would never hear it). Long story short, had I poured out my complaint to Him and heard what He was trying to say to me in the verse He had brought to my attention, I would not have wasted so much time, energy and pain on email writing.

What He was wanting me to hear was “Yes this hurts Phil, but it will not harm you, it is a fire, but it will not burn you.”

There is a huge difference between hurt and harm. When we go to the dentist it can hurt, but the short term hurt brings long term relief. If we (I) say that we (I) truly believe that he is actively at work in all things for our good (Romans 8:28), then we (I) need to show this by choosing to trust him. When we (I) do this then though things hurt, they cannot ultimately harm us. In fact each trial has the capacity to grow our faith and strengthen us.

So His word to me, breaking this old habit is necessary, but not necessarily easy.

Father I choose to trust You, I choose to cast all my cares upon You. I know that You care for me, help me to do my part in strengthening the weak hands that hang down, so that I may bring honour and glory to Your Name. In Jesus name Amen!