Can I be honest? I feel like I’m smothering…

Something no one tells you about chronic illness and mental illness is how much it affects everything in your life. Most people see these things as temporary, but if you are or have suffered with them, you know how false that statement is. To be honest, having all these health problems feels like I’m being smothered from life. It doesn’t slow down because I have to. It keeps pushing forward at a faster pace than I can sometimes manage.

Because I have had such burdensome medical issues, I placed my relationship with God on the back burner. It felt like an inconvenience to have to open my Bible at the end of the day because, honestly, I was just exhausted. It wasn’t until my tumor scare that things were finally placed into perspective for me. The smothering sensation was only there because I had pulled back from God….

I think we’ve all been there at some point. You have so much going on with yourself or others that you forget the feeling of spending time with God, having a relationship with Him, sitting in prayer with Him, and feeling peace and comfort. You forget that if you just walk with Him every day, your circumstances will drastically change. You forget the power of prayer. You forget who God is.

I wanted to remind you who God is today and how He can show up for you no matter what you face! In Daniel 3, we are introduced to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These three men refused to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue and, as punishment, were thrown in a furnace. It’s important to note the king didn’t want to do this to them, but had to because of a law he had passed. When the king checked on them the following day, he looked into the furnace, found all three of them walking, and saw a fourth man, Jesus, in the fire with them. Because of this, the king promoted the three men to higher offices and decreed that the God of Israel be worshipped.

What’s beautiful about this story is that though God allowed them to be thrown into the fire, He was in the fire with them, too. It shows that even in the worst of circumstances, we can remain firm in our faith and know that God is in them with us.

I don’t know what your fire looks like today. What I do know is that God is in that fire, too. There is always a purpose for your pain. Your fire might be scary, it might be full of anxiety, it might even be life-threatening, but our God is stronger. Our God has a way through the fire for you. If you’re sitting in it, you’re not alone. Though it might be hot, you will not burn!