THROUGH THE FIRE WITH JESUS BESIDE YOU

In all of our lives, we face many Challenges. They come in a multitude of ways, and while most are pretty easy to evaluate and find ways to manage and overcome them, some seem more difficult. The difficult ones will truly peel back just exactly where you put your Trust and Faith. These journeys push us into moments of self examination, stress, questioning our plans and actions, and can be pretty darned Unsettling…even With Faith. It will truly open up and Test your Trust In God, and Reveal The Depth Of Your Relationship With Him. The world lays out a picture of experts with knowledge, best practices, protocols, and perfect advice for every possible struggle and challenge. You are EXPECTED to listen and follow their wisdom because, really, do you have Any Other Choice ? I want to share my Personal Struggle, because there are some really important things that as Christians WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND AND BUILD IN OUR FAITH FOUNDATION ! THE MOST IMPORTANT FIRST POINT IS SIMPLE BUT CRITICAL : DO YOU HAVE A ROCK SOLID, ALL IN RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST, BUILT ON TOTAL TRUST AND ALSO, TOTAL SURRENDER TO HIS LORDSHIP AND HIS WILL ? About a year and a half ago, I received a challenging lab report at my annual physical. My kidney numbers were off. Thus began my journey into the uncertainty of Chronic Kidney Disease. CKD ! The difficult part about the diagnosis is that Western Medicine has minimal answers for any Positive Solutions. Their viewpoint centers on “ Hang on, hope for stability, watch a few things, take drugs, and basically, Wait For The Inevitable. Wow. Personally, I have been a Christian for a long time. 53 years. The best part is that for the last 20 years, I have actually been ALL IN in following and Abiding In Christ. The difference ? Abiding is all about CLOSER RELATIONSHIP, TOTAL TRUST, AND MATURING GROWTH ! My first thought when I am challenged is simple : I Talk To Jesus In Prayer. It seems simple to bear your heart to God and we often do….the question is, Will We Understand His Reply To Us ? I asked for HEALING, and He Answered. “Jim, I will heal you IF YOU BELIEVE. I truly Believe that God can do all things, so of course, my follow up question was, “When…and How ?” What I'm learning is that God Has His Ways, and We Have Ours. Inside, my mind is shouting, “ Get Me Out Of This Fire !”…and God is asking me, DO YOU BELIEVE ?

IF YOU ABIDE IN ME, AND MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU, ASK WHATEVER YOU WISH, AND IT WILL BE DONE FOR YOU. John 15:7

THEREFORE I TELL YOU, WHATEVER YOU ASK IN PRAYER, BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED IT, AND IT WILL BE YOURS. Mark 11:24

CAST YOUR BURDEN ON THE LORD, AND HE WILL SUSTAIN YOU; HE WILL NEVER PERMIT THE RIGHTEOUS TO BE MOVED. Psalm 55:22

So often, we approach God with prayer, deciding before hand exactly what we WANT FROM HIM. We want our perfect outcome, in our timeframe, and according to Our Will. PUT THE FIRE OUT BECAUSE I DON’T LIKE THE HEAT AND PAIN ! BUT GOD SHOWED ME SOMETHING DIFFERENT:) HE SHOWED ME “HIS PLAN, AND HIS WILL….AND HE IS NOT PULLING ME OUT OF THE FIRE….HE IS WALKING BESIDE ME THROUGH IT ! No instantaneous Miracle Cure, but instead, a real opportunity to Toil Beside Him And Trust ! GOD’S AMAZING PLAN : Out of nowhere, I get an email from a Kidney Nutrition Group to join a zoom presentation. They specialize in CKD of course. I AM NOW WORKING WITH THEM ONE ON ONE WITH A WHOLE NEW WAY OF EATING. PLADO… a plant dominated Diet. My Dietician AMY ? a rock solid follower of Christ, who prays with me and for me every time we meet. Let’s keep going :) One of my dear men’s group brothers, Steve, introduces me to his Brother in Law…who just happens to be years past a horrible Kidney Disease diagnosis. Jimmy and his awesome wife share their experience. A changed diet to all plants, and unceasing Prayer and Trust in God ! SO, I realized that these things were not just happenstance…GOD WAS SHOWING ME THAT MY HEALING WOULD REQUIRE NOT ONLY MY TRUST, BUT ALSO MY OWN TRANSFORMATION ! My life was becoming a process of going in for a blood draw and waiting for the inevitable “bad news”. Lower numbers, lower function, loss of hope…FIRE. My Kidney Doctor was not encouraging, basically telling me that even if I had slight improvement, it meant Nothing. So, it became SIMPLE for me. “ Here I Am Lord. I’m in YOUR HANDS !”

DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART. COMMIT YOUR WAY TO THE LORD; TRUST IN HIM AND HE WILL ACT. Psalm 37: 4-5

BUT AS FOR ME, I WILL LOOK TO THE LORD; I WILL WAIT FOR THE GOD OF MY SALVATION; MY GOD WILL HEAR ME. Micah 7:7

DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT IN EVERYTHING BY PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION WITH THANKSGIVING LET YOUR REQUESTS BE KNOWN TO GOD. AND THE PEACE OF GOD, WHICH SURPASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING , WILL GUARD YOUR HEARTS AND YOUR MINDS IN JESUS CHRIST. Philippians 4: 6-7

The real message for all of us is this: You Will Spend Time In Fire ! The Book Of Daniel is our perfect example of what WE MUST DO when we face it. Shadrack, Meshack and Abendego were young Jewish teenagers taken captive by the Babylonians. Unlike many however, THEY ALREADY HAD THEIR FOUNDATION AND TRUST IN GOD CEMENTED AND SETTLED IN THEIR HEARTS TO FACE ANY CHALLENGES COMING THEIR WAY ! When King Nebuchadnezzar demanded that they bow down and worship him and the Babylonian gods, They Said No. “ Then at the urging of the King’s advisors, they were Physically Forced into a Furnace ( brick kiln) that would certainly burn them to a crisp…but It Didn’t. As the King peered in, He could see FOUR PEOPLE walking around in the Inferno. Care to guess WHO WAS WITH THEM ? GOD WAS ! There are so many ways that God makes Himself available to us, but it always comes down to Our Choice And Our Effort. When life finds you in a place of challenge, just remember that NOTHING IS TOO DIFFICULT FOR GOD ! Jesus Christ has made it so clear to me that IF I BELIEVE,…IF I TRUST,…I Will Have The Time He Has Designed For My Life. I don’t know how long that will be, but it will be ENOUGH. AS OF TODAY, my Numbers have IMPROVED ! ALL OF THEM ! The future will be what it will be, but I AM THANKFUL ! No matter where YOU find yourself, know that GOD SEES YOU AND HEARS YOU… but you must SEEK HIM…and strive to Trust Him. My prayer is for Everyone to realize that HE WILL ALWAYS WALK WITH YOU THROUGH THE FIRE…AND SOMETIMES, WALKING THROUGH THE FIRE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN AVOIDING IT OR BEING PULLED OUT ! May Peace and Rest in Him be Our Blessing :) Amen ! WALK WITH HIM/JAA

FOR WITH GOD, NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE. Luke 1:37