Faith In The Fire
Evangelist Nathan Morris
Feb 6, 2022
Read Acts 8, 9:31
There are moments when we must walk through the fire of testing. 1 Peter 1:6-7 says, “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” God walks with you through the fires and He brings you out for a greater plan and purpose. He not only walks with you in the fire, but He is walking you into your destiny. You can be full of faith in the fire.
THE FIRES OF TESTING
Things won’t be handed to you easily because God wants to bring praise out of your life. Sometimes you have to fight for it. Your walk with God will not be as glamorous as life seems to be on social media. Sometimes you have to go through the fire of testing.
You may find yourself facing attack after attack and you’re asking God, “What is happening?!” You are fighting to push through but sometimes it seems like it’s just too much. You may find yourself crying and asking God for answers. When you’re going through the fires of testing and it seems as though the enemy is turning up the heat and coming down on you, God will step into the fire with you. He will see you through for His honor and glory.
These are landmark encounters that occur in your life for God to transform you. Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
GOD WANTS TO BRING YOU THROUGH THE FIRE
Sometimes you’re praying for God to get you out of the mess but He doesn’t want to get you out, He wants to bring you through to the other side.
There are times when you will feel alone, but God wants you to know that even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He will get the glory out of this situation. You are not walking through the fire in vain.
In Luke 4, Jesus is tested in the wilderness. The devil commands Jesus to tell the stone to become bread to prove that He is really the son of God. Similarly, the devil will also tempt you while you are going through the fire and question God’s power. You may start to wonder, “If God is so powerful then why isn’t He bringing me through the fire?”
But remember this—Jesus did not stay in the wilderness, nor did He allow the devil to defeat Him. As you walk through the fire, hold onto your faith. Remember who God is and that the devil does not have the final say. Jesus didn’t come out of the wilderness whimpering or declaring that He made it out, but He came out in the power of the Holy Spirit. Luke 4:14, says “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country.”
Don’t let the devil paralyze you—keep on rising! Jesus was tested right before He began His ministry. You are being tested because you are on the brink of a breakthrough!
God brought Jesus through the wilderness and He will bring you through the fire.
GOD IS WITH YOU IN THE FIRE
When the devil says turn up the heat, Jesus is right there with you.
God might not move it, but He will give you the grace to walk in it.
God might not lift it, but He will give you the power to stand under it.
When God is trying to give you the increase, He has to teach you how to fight to the next level. He has to test your faith while you’re going through the fire to see if it’s authentic.
Faith can always be seen on the mountaintop when things are going great and we are not fighting any battles. Faith, however, is proven in the valley when you are fighting the hardest battles. God wants you to know that He is the one that is with you the entire time.
You might feel like it’s over but there is a moment where God is about to show you His glory in your life. God is about to reveal to you a far more exceeding word of glory. You may be feeling like you’re all by yourself, but God wants to get you through the fire. You will come out of the fire.
When you have perspective, you understand that through the trials you felt like you couldn’t find God, but when He brings you through, you begin to praise because you realize that He was there the whole time. In the midst of the fire, you have the ability to sow a seed for a harvest to come by praising Him and acknowledging that He is with you in the fire.
It may be difficult to do amidst the pain of the trials, but by looking to Him, the pain dissolves and praise erupts because He was faithful then and He’ll be faithful now in your trials.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
How do you respond when there are too many attacks happening in your life all at once?
How will you respond as you walk through the fire? Do not give in to the devil but remember that God is right there with you and He will bring you through it.
