My classmates and I waited in a packed auditorium at my Christian university as we were told that the original speaker wasn't able to make it and they had to find a last minute replacement. This substitute speaker was a North Korean defector named Charles and he shared his story of escaping North Korea twice and how he came to know Jesus. I was intrigued. The first time around, he escaped to China to find his father who had escaped years earlier. After some searching, he found his father. During his time in China, a pastor came to his house and handed him a Bible and prayed over the young man who had never heard of Jesus before.
He expressed his mixed feelings as he reflected on his difficult journey to freedom. He is so grateful that he made it out while many others are still trapped.
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This past Palm Sunday, my pastor gave a message on having faith during difficult times. As a part of his message, he showed the congregation a short clip of three different people that had endured a difficult time in their lives. The first woman on the screen had a miscarriage; second was a man who lost his granddaughter; last was a woman who had been sexually abused for years by her own father. All three were still deeply affected and in pain by these events and questioned “God? Why? Why God have you forsaken me?”
It is easier to have faith in the Lord when things are comfortable. But what happens in the face of tragedy?
God doesn’t promise us good times, he promises us to be with us all the time, in the good and the bad. In the third chapter of Daniel, we see the story of three men of God, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who were in a sticky situation. Rather than bowing down to a gold statue made by King Nebuchadnezzar, they chose to be faithful to God. King Nebuchadnezzar warned the three men that the consequences of not worshiping the golden statue would result in being thrown into a fiery furnace. Their response was, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it.” They said that even if God didn’t deliver them from the furnace, they would still not bow. Imagine that. To be grounded in your faith in God like that to stand firm knowing that God is always with you. A furious King Nebuchadnezzar had the furnace heated up seven hotter than usual and had his soldiers throw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in. The furnace was so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers that threw these three men of God in the fire.
The fire didn’t burn Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Likewise, Charles, in the midst of all his pain, struggles and tribulations was able to continue and make it out alive. One of the things he said was that he knew that God was always there with him and had a purpose for his life.
This is a good reminder for me this Easter. God has a plan and that may include times of hardship. But that suffering will come to an end. His love for us, on the other hand, is everlasting and unchanging. You may pass through the fire but you will not burn. You may pass through rivers of difficulty but you will not drown. Do not fear because Jesus will be with you.
*This post was written by our social media coordinator Melissa Vasquez.
