The Lord promised the nation of Israel in Isaiah 43:2,
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”
It’s been rightly noted, “God’s presence in the trial is much better than exemption from the trial.” The reason for this is that God is at work, and, while we see things in part and imperfectly (1 Cor. 13:12), His plan is grander and greater than we could imagine.
DL Moody in The Overcoming Life reminds us of how this concept is clearly and powerfully evident in the life of the Apostle Paul,
Think of Paul up yonder. People are going home to be with the Lord every day and every hour, men and women who have been brought to Christ through his writings. He set streams in motion that have flowed on for more than a thousand years.
I can imagine men going up there and saying,
“Paul, thank you for writing that letter to the Ephesians. I found Christ in that.”
“Paul, I thank you for writing that epistle to the Corinthians.” “Paul, I found Christ in that epistle to the Philippians.” “I thank you, Paul, for that epistle to the Galatians. I found Christ in that.”
I suppose they go up to Paul all the time and thank him for what he did. When Paul was put in prison he didn’t fold his hands and sit in idleness. No, he wrote. And his epistles have come down through the ages of time. They have brought thousands upon thousands to a knowledge of Christ crucified. Yes, Christ said to Paul, “I will make you a fisher of men if you will follow Me.” And he has been fishing for souls ever since. The Devil thought he had done a very smart thing when he maneuvered Paul into prison. He was very much mistaken. He overdid it for once. I have no doubt that Paul has thanked God ever since for that Philippian jail, his stripes, and imprisonment there. We will only know when we get to heaven what an impact Paul had on the world.
Yesterday’s photos of our most recent class of Abundant Life Program graduates and this reading from last night combined to remind me of two things:
- God’s presence with those church leaders in the midst of their trials
- God’s graciousness in permitting them and us to “set streams in motion that may flow on for years.”
