When my friend Joy shared that she and her husband were expecting their second child, I celebrated with her. However, early in her pregnancy, Joy began to experience complications, and her doctor discovered the baby had “water in the brain.” They contemplated draining the fluid but reconsidered because it would put both the baby and the mother in danger. All Joy could do was pray for a miracle.
Many joined with Joy and spent the next several months praying and pleading with God for mercy. But at eight months, her precious baby stopped breathing. It was emotionally devastating. Two days later, we buried baby Zion in a casket the size of a shoebox. We cried as we bid Zion farewell. Joy wailed and refused to be comforted because Zion was no more.
The next several months were marked with emotional turmoil. I tried to support Joy. I sat with her but felt helpless to comfort her. I tried to help her nurse her body as she recovered from childbirth, a birth to a child she could neither see nor hold.
Seasons have come and gone, but I still think of Joy’s season of life like it happened yesterday. God has carried Joy and her family through their season of loss and grief, and while they will never forget the sadness of this season, they have continued to trust and hold onto God.
Psalm 66 reminds us there are seasons when our faith will be tested. My friend Joy now tells me her affliction made her stronger. Just as a good refiner never leaves the crucible—closely monitoring the heat from the fire—as he cleans and purifies the precious silver metal, God too never leaves our side as we go through the sorrows of life. Our faith is refined and strengthened under His watchful eye. When we reflect on our season of testing in this light, we then see God’s power and love.
You may be going through a testing season and feel it is too great to bear. God will carry you through your pain and sorrow. I pray that, like Joy, you will see how He purified you like silver and showed you the depth of His power and love.
(Photo courtesy of morguefile and erdenebayar.)
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I read this a day late, but it was exactly what I needed to hear this morning. What a word of encouragement!