The Water and Fire Experience

UV 3643/10000 The Water and Fire Experience When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43 v 2 The mirror verse for this uni-verse is in Psalm 66 v 12 which says, “ You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.” The Lord shapes our character and our testimony through suffering of first, water and then, the ordeal of fire. But He promises to be with us in the midst of the water and the fire, in the throes of suffering like the fourth One who the king Nebuchadnezzar declared looked like the Son of God walking in the fire with the three friends of Daniel- Meshach, Shadrak and Abednego. The presence of God with them kept them from being seared or even singed by the flames of the fire. He allows us to go through water and fire for our purification, our edification, our sanctification and His glorification. People who witness or hear about our coming through unscathed, not drowned, not consumed by the fire, not harmed in any way will know for sure that God is real and He is with us for He alone can do such things. We could not have survived but for the help of the Lord. This uni-verse has immense personal significance in my life for I was once drowned in the sea and revived through CPR by my own boss. The Lord gave him the confidence and the ability to revive me. After that I went through fire, in the human bomb assassination of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The Lord preserved my life though I was badly injured. He did not allow it or ‘death’ to come near me for He was nearer to me. The Lord allows us to go through the furnace of afflictions so that our faith in Him comes forth like refined gold. In the mirror verse quoted above, the Lord also promises to bring us after the suffering by water and fire into a place of abundance. Affliction of this kind will not visit us again. He promises to reward our faith. He promises to bring us into a place of security and protection. He promises to bless us with the abundant or eternal life, a life abundant in hope, in peace, in joy. The stories of the conquests and deeds of mighty kings will pass into oblivion but what God has accomplished in saving us will be etched in golden letters in eternity to strengthen the faith of others. God does not promise us the absence of problems or trials by water and fire but He promises His presence with us in the thick of it. His presence with us or our personal relationship with Him is the guarantee of safety and prosperity or security, synonyms for abundance. Hence, we have hope before we go through such great suffering, patience as we are enduring or facing it and joy after we come through safely.