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Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire (1 Peter 1:7a, CEV).
Fire. A word used in the Bible to describe trials. All followers of Jesus will experience their faith tested by fire.
There’s also literal fire — your house burns! The testing of faith by fire and the testing of faith through a literal house fire — sometimes both at the same time.
Few have experienced it. My wife and I did.
Twenty years ago, my son came into our bedroom, waking my wife and me to say, “Dad, the house is on fire!” At first, I thought, “Did my son burn toast causing the toaster to flame up?”
Then my son said, “Seriously!” He was also on the phone talking to the fire department.
The 911 operator had a simple message. With a raised voice, she said, “Get out of the house, now. Don’t take anything with you.” My son took his computer, and my wife grabbed her cat while I got dressed. Just seconds after we were reunited in the driveway, an exploding propane tank sent a 1500-degree fireball seeking oxygen traveling 120 MPH through our entire house.
Very few homeowners experience an entire house fire, and every time I talk to another “home lost by fire” person, there’s a shared “we know what we went through” moment. We understand waking up the next day with no possessions, a lifetime of mementos lost, insurance adjusters, thousands of replacement cost forms, hours of work each week added to already busy schedules, and typically a year to rebuild.
Not to mention the psychological impact.
As I’ve watched the recent fires in California, I can sympathize from experience, but I still had my community. A wildfire destroying a city elevates to another level.
For the past 20 years, I’ve had flashbacks of that morning. My wife and I still discuss those days, and with the benefit of years since the fire, we agree that our trial by literal fire taught us three things.
First, we were glad that we had purchased the most expensive and comprehensive insurance policy possible. Second, we were fortunate to have the support of a community of friends and believers, and third, God showed up many times with unexpected kindness.
Twenty years after the fire, Barbara and I know that our faith grew. God is faithful. It’s the experience of a few to collect on a homeowner’s fire policy, but all of us have testing in our future. James gives the best advice possible. . .
My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. You know you learn to endure by having your faith tested (James 1:2-3).
Remember three things:
- Do we have the right insurance? Start with Jesus and go from there.
- Do we have great relationships? Friends show up!
- Do we believe that God always works for the best? Yes, we can ask questions, but let’s never doubt God’s goodness.
Blessings, brothers and sisters. We serve a loving God. That’s my ultimate assessment from our literal trial by fire and all other trials.