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.
She was encouraged and, while that was the point and I am glad, there is more to this verse than comfort - there is a warning implicit. Nestled between the promise that God is with us is a promise that there will be fire, there will be frightful, painful things ahead. Just because we are not burned doesn’t mean that we aren’t melted down to the very essence of who we are. That can be a scary thing and I fear for my friend, though I know she will be the better person for this eventually because she truly loves our God. I guess you could say that, more than fear for my friend, I fear for other Christians in her place.
So often we hear it preached from the pulpit that God is the smart choice, the easy choice, the happy choice, and for just the price of a prayer we can have peace, joy, and contentment in our lives. It is shameful how the church has turned those valuable gifts into market buzz words and completely lost their intended meaning. We pitch Christ like one would pitch their wares at the market, or a late night infomercial.
Christ didn’t live an easy life. He certainly didn’t live a peaceful life, not in the modern vernacular. He didn’t sell himself, either. He knew that his life was hard and he warned others as they considered entering into it. Ever tried to warn someone against becoming a follower of Christ? Jesus did. "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Mt 8:20)
What would happen if we started getting honest with our friends? Christianity doesn’t make everything better, it isn’t a magic potion that cures all ills and loneliness. Christians get tired, they get sick, they die. While we are tired, sick, and dying we are called to live like He did giving our lives away to those around us. We are called to love God enough to live by His standards and to do it cheerfully, even when we are waiting to learn if we have cancer. We are called to live in this world and love those around us, even after we get a flat tire and the bank deposits our check into the wrong account. We are called to hold our tongues when we are wronged and not gossip in the workplace, or anywhere else. In many ways, becoming a Christian makes one’s life more difficult! The main difference is this: Those who put their trust in God develop the capacity to carry those burdens as if they were 'easy' and 'light' not because they are but because He is our sustainer. He sends something that we call peace: the ability to live through the brokenness without being broken. He sends something we call joy: the ability to recognize the reality of a painful situation and still find happiness in the sunshine and butterflies in spite of the clouds and the wasps. My other friend Kami says it is precisely that challenge that makes living like Christ so attractive. I think I agree.
I really don’t know where this is going, except to say that I’m glad my friend is a woman who understands that she has hard times ahead but, in spite of that, God will sustain her. The waters she is about to enter will try to pass over her head but God will keep her afloat. And when she looks into the fire, she will find who she truly is- stripped down to her elemental behaviors and her default thought patterns and then she will melt into the shape that God has called her because the fire will melt down any last vestiges of HER strength and force her to rely on God’s. Knowing her, she will lean into the process and welcome God changing her with open arms because she trusts Him. Just wait and watch, though - through this and on the other side, she will touch others lives by the way she lives through the storm and praises God for the tiny pieces of beauty she sees when the lightning flashes.
That is the secret strength of a disciple of Jesus Christ.
