June 7th – Serendipitous Thoughts by Sugar Bear
Title: The Fire Within: Faith That Endures the Furnace
“But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” — Job 23:10 (NIV)
I once heard an old coal miner say, “Fire makes the diamond, but pressure gives it shine.” He wasn’t preaching, but the gospel truth was dripping off every word. I remember standing outside after my back surgery ,cane in hand, feeling like life had squeezed all the strength out of me. But then, God whispered through the wind, “You’re not done. I’m refining you.”
That same week, I received a letter from a young man I mentored through football years ago. He wrote, “Coach, I remember how you never let us give up, even when you were hurting physically. ” That wasn’t me—that was God’s fire working through the weakness. The furnace doesn't destroy the faithful—it refines them.
Children of God:, why do I/ we feel so broken all the time?”
“Because we’re ’re being shaped. God doesn’t waste pain—He works in it. Faith isn’t a vaccine against struggle; it’s the muscle built through it.”
"But doesn’t God want us to be happy?”
He wants you/us to be holy more than happy—and through holiness, we're ’ find joy no smile alone can give. When He’s all you have, you discover He’s all you need.”
Lord, in our affliction, help us see the fire is not for our destruction but for our refinement. Burn away what’s false. Fortify what’s true. Teach us to trust Your hands even when we cannot trace them. May we come forth shining—not with pride, but with perseverance and praise.
May the fire you face today forge the faith you’ll need tomorrow. He knows the way you take—walk it with Him.
Faith is not a fragile candle flickering in a breeze—it’s a blacksmith’s forge, fired hot by trial, shaping steel for the battle ahead.
God bless you and this ministry!
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