Through the fire...

          This week I listened to the testimony of a couple who went through a fiery ordeal. Ken had been flying commercially and in the Royal Canadian air force for over thirty-six years. One day, he and his wife decided to make a trip to Washington D.C. as well as make a stop to Virginia to visit their daughter. After taking off, he decided to do some checks and discovered that the oil pressure was too low. While trying to get assistance from the air traffic control tower, the engine stopped.   
          His mind raced trying to figure out the best and safest place to land the plane. He couldn’t land on the runway or in the town. He finally decided to land on a narrow gravel levy between the edge of town and a swamp. After a quick desperate prayer, he landed but the plane was difficult to control. Unfortunately, the left landing gear fell off and broke off and the plane spun around and then stopped. When he looked over his wife’s shoulder, all he saw was flames. They had little hope of getting out alive. He stepped out on to the fiery wing of the plane and the fire moved up his feet to his head. He grabbed his wife’s hand to pull her out of her seat but her headset was still on and she fell back into her seat. Ken was feeling helpless and hopeless. He made up his mind that he was not leaving his wife and that he would die with her if necessary. She finally got loose from the seat while he was feeling his feet, clothes and hair were burning. As she got onto the wing of the plane with him, a circle with no fire surrounded them. They were able to jump into the water and swim to safety. 
          As I listened to this testimony, I was moved and encouraged by the impossibility of their situation. The plane was malfunctioning in the air, no one could help. Notice, prayer is hardly mentioned at all in this testimony. In fact, it is only mentioned once. Sometimes, I think, when we are going through tough situations, we can become so overwhelmed and distracted by what is happening that we don’t even consider praying. Our minds are racing trying to figure out our situation. That’s what Ken was understandably doing because as a pilot, his first response to an emergency was to figure out how to land the plane with its passengers safely. We too, many times, are busy trying to figure it out. That’s a normal human response. I recently saw a quote on Facebook by TobyMac which says it quite accurately: “God is not asking you to figure it out. God is asking you to trust that HE already has.” God already has it worked out. While we are stressing and fretting, God already has the answer to our problem.
          Sometimes, it does seem as if we pray and pray and nothing is happening. It seems as if God is not hearing and we feel discouraged. Things even seem to be getting worse. Yet, just because it looks as if nothing is happening doesn’t mean that that is true. Sometimes God is working but we can’t see it or feel it. It seems as if He is silent but it doesn’t mean that He isn’t hearing or seeing what is taking place. This is where trust comes in. We trust God not because of what we can see. We trust God because we know what He is capable of and that He will come through for us. It’s about faith!
          The miracle in this testimony is that fireless circle that appeared around them; the fact that the fire parted leaving a clear path to the water. We can’t always tell God how to work. He chose to allow them to go through this fiery experience. Sometimes He may allow us to go through the fire instead of preventing it. 
          Ken and his wife did suffer burns on their body. Ken got the worst of it. He had to undergo multiple surgeries because of second and third degree burns on eight percent of his body. But, today they are thankful to God for helping them make it through that experience. He didn’t take them around it or over it but through it. Now Ken finds it easier to tell others about God simply because of what God did for them in that situation.
          I think of the Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were thrown into the fiery furnace because they refused to bow down to any other god but Jehovah God (Daniel 3:1-21). God allowed them to go through the fire so that the Gentile king, Nebuchadnezzar, would see and acknowledge that God is the one true and living God (Daniel 3:28-29). Sometimes we have to go through because that is the best way to draw others to Him. And, if He takes us through it, He will bring us out safely.
          If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as personal Lord and Savior, I invite you to do so now. Trials will come – that’s a part of life. But, with God on your side, each trial can become a testimony to lead others to Him.

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