Through the fire...

    Travis and Rachel awoke one morning to a fiery inferno. Their house was on fire. Rachel’s parents lived close by and when they arrived, her mother told them to jump out of their second story window. Rachel was thirty-six weeks pregnant. She was able to get out but by that time, the fire had reached the window and Travis opted to run back through the house trying to escape. When he got outside, Rachel’s parents were pulling her unconscious body to safety. Feeling his skin burning, he immediately ran to their house next door and into their shower.    
    When they got to the hospital, it was discovered that Rachel had suffered a brain bleed from a fractured skull and third degree burns from her legs to her torso. Doctors decided to do an emergency C-section to remove her baby. Fortunately, the baby was fine. Travis, on the other hand, had to undergo emergency surgery for the extensive burns he had sustained. Doctors were able to stop Rachel’s brain bleed and so saved her life. They both underwent various surgeries to address their injuries - Travis, three and Rachel, five. Their recovery process was a painful one and Rachel had to undergo therapy because of the extent and location of her burns. She had been in the hospital for twenty-nine days and one of her surgeons  told her that her healing was where it should have been at four and a half months! 
    Travis realised that it was a miracle they had survived considering the intensity of the fire which destroyed their home. He acknowledges that God truly stepped in and by His grace saved them. Only a bible, a photo and the shirt Rachel was baptized in, survived the fire. These were framed. They truly believe that God delivered them so that they could share His goodness to the world. They don’t see it as their story but as an opportunity for them to share who God is as well as His goodness and faithfulness through what they went through.
    The three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, in the book of Daniel come to my mind (Daniel 3). In their case, they refused to bow to a golden image set up by king Nebuchadnezzar. As a result, they were bound and thrown into a fiery furnace. While there, God stepped in and when the king looked he was amazed to see the three boys, free of their bonds, and in the company of a fourth man whom he described as looking like the Son of God. When they were told to come out of the furnace, they were completely untouched by the fire. As a result, the king blessed the God of these three boys, acknowledging that there was no other god who could deliver like Him. At the end of the day, the true and living God got the glory and showed Himself as God above all others!    
    Just like the three Hebrew boys, Travis and Rachel went through a fiery experience, but God delivered them. They did experience burns and discomfort and pain, but what God did for them and through them was as amazing as what He did for the three Hebrew boys. Rachel was still able to birth a perfectly healthy baby girl who was totally untouched by what her parents had been through and during their healing process, God came through for them time and again.
    Many have been and some are still going through fiery trials and, like Travis and Rachel, the season is a difficult and painful one. Yet, God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. He could have prevented the fire but He did not. The reality is, we will not have a testimony if we don’t go through some fires. We won’t know or fully experience God’s goodness and faithfulness if we don’t go through difficult times. We won’t know comfort unless we experience pain or tragedy. We won’t know strength unless we experience hopelessness and weakness. The enemy may send challenges to destroy us but God allows them to enable us to see who He really is and to tell others about His goodness.
    So, be encouraged. God is still a present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). He has not left or forsaken you and He never will. Just trust Him.
​    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God is not untouched by what we go through. He does care and allows both good and bad in our lives to show His goodness and faithfulness to us. In turn we get the opportunity to share our experience and be an encouragement to others. 

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