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When life turns up the heat, where do you go for peace?

Psalm 27:13-14

I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.

Families that include an individual with a long-term debilitating condition know a lot about waiting. They wait in doctors’ offices, wait for diagnoses, wait for the slow wheels of bureaucracy to turn out financial or educational assistance, and wait for their child’s progress that may come so slowly and in such tiny increments that it is hard to recognize. It’s enough to test the patience of a saint, especially when the weeks and months flow into years and what is hoped for does not come.

Persistence becomes difficult. When you’re weary, and it seems that you’re trying to push a gigantic rock uphill, it’s hard to keep shoulder to boulder. Until there is a breakthrough (and possibly even after), your world is turned upside down and peace may threaten to abandon you.

When life turns up the heat, where do you go for peace?

Some years ago, as one of several writers of a devotional booklet, I was assigned the topic of peace. That seemed to be a strange assignment, given that there was little peace in my life. Two of my kids had just come through a two-year struggle with autoimmune disorders. My husband was in a losing battle with diabetes and heart disease, with all the physical, emotional and financial implications that the struggle had for him and for the family. Our personal circumstances didn’t offer a lot of peace. The world scene wasn’t much brighter, with the eruption of the Gulf War.

The Bible story that stood out for me at that time was one that had taken place not far from the modern city of Baghdad. It is the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, recorded in the third chapter of Daniel. Because these men refused to worship an idol, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered them bound up and thrown into a huge, blazing furnace. The heat was so intense that it killed the men throwing Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the flames. But to the king’s astonishment, he observed four men walking around "unbound and unharmed" in the midst of the fire. The fourth man appeared, as he said, "like a son of the gods." Recognizing the source of their protection, Nebuchadnezzar called out to these "servants of the Most High God" to come out of the furnace, and he vowed his protection of them from that day forward.

This story’s important lesson for me was that while God does not always keep us out of the furnace, he will not leave his faithful people alone or unprotected there. He will be in the fire with us. And he urges us, in Romans 12:10-13, to be there with each other:

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Martin Luther wrote, about these verses and others: "The Gospel … equips us with nothing less than divine armor, that is it teaches us, not how to get rid of evil and to enjoy peace, but how to live with it and yet conquer it. … Not yielding, but perseverance counts in this conflict. … You are told to 'wait on the Lord.' And do not be offended; do not murmur and despair. What God has in mind with these plans I do not understand, neither do I desire to know it; but I shall bear the hand of the Lord and say: You are my God, your promise and Word remain forever."

Heavenly Father, when we encounter challenges that you allow to come our way, grant us the wisdom to apply our patience and our persistence appropriately. Help us to know when to knock on doors and when to wait for them to be opened. Most importantly, never let us forget that when the world or circumstance turns up the heat, you are in the furnace with us. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.