“I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

It’s been a wave of emotions in the last few weeks. Routine has been stripped from right under our feet and we’re having to adjust to new platforms of existing. As we face this time of struggle, I find the need to be reminded of God’s plan and who He has called me to be despite the current situations. 

I’m reminded of the story of three young men who were taken captives and asked to do things outside of who they knew God had called them to be. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced a king who wanted to instill fear and power over his people in order that he might reign superior. These young men knew who their true King was and stood up against the peer pressure to serve otherwise.

As many of our counties are asked to ‘shelter in place’, we can be consumed by fear. To name a few: the fears of sickness, the fear of missing out, the fears of not experiencing life as we thought we would in the season we thought we would be, you name it. The fear is there and when there is no one else to speak power and life over you, our thoughts consume us. 

I want to gently provoke a desire and need in us during these next few weeks to take the time to pray, meditate and worship our King of Kings because ‘He who began a good work in us will bring it about to completion’. We have hope beyond that of the social media and news stations, we are the generation the Lord has called to bring light and direction to others. 

As Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego expressed to king Nebuchadnezzar they would not bow down to his standards, expectations, or gods, he was filled with rage. The king turned up the fire seven times more so they would truly burn. He tied them up and threw these three young men into the fire. The story then continues, “Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” (Daniel 3:25).

What we do in times of trials determines who can join us. We have the opportunity to welcome the presence of God into our homes, our lives, and our hearts. I imagine these young men not just walking around but praising God at this moment. Though everything was blazing around them, their God was not only protecting them but with them in the fire. 

“There’s a grace when the heart is under fire

Another way when the walls are closing in

And when I look at the space between

Where I used to be and this reckoning

I know I will never be alone

There was another in the fire

Standing next to me

There was another in the waters

Holding back the seas

And should I ever need reminding

Of how I’ve been set free

There is a cross that bears the burden

Where another died for me

There is another in the fire”

• Hillsong UNITED, Another In The Fire  ← Give it a listen! 

Our King is always with us and unlike king nebuchadnezzar, he does not need to instill fear to show his power, he stands with us in the fire that we would not be burned (Isaiah 43:2). Our King speaks life into existence, the storm to be still and today he is knocking at the doors of our hearts and homes that we would welcome him so that he can be with us in this season. 

– Mayte Jimenez, visit coordinator