"Remember, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. God didn't put out the fire. He just put Jesus in there with them and they came out without smoke. It's not about God stopping all the things that look bad; it's about who is in there with you."
- Unknown
Whenever something bad happens to us, we always pray for God to "take it away."
"Take away my pain."
"Take away my depression."
"Take away my anxiety."
"Take away my sickness."
"Take away my injury."
"Take me out of my situation."
"Take away my heartache."
We are the generation of fast-acting. We tweet thoughts out faster than we can think and find information in the blink of an eye. So when we find ourselves in some sort of pain and suffering, why can't that be taken away just as fast too? I mean, God does ask for us to pray and tells us that He will answer.
But the thing is, He may not answer in the way we like.
Instead of healing us from a bad breakup, and making us immediately over them as soon as we stand up from praying, He may have us walk in this heartache for a while. He may use that heartbreak to shape and mold us into the people we will be, or use that heartbreak to help others in similar situations. He also may do nothing with our heartbreak that we will know of.
We aren't meant to understand or comprehend why God does what He does sometimes. But what we are meant to know is that God is always with us. He is there as we are having panic attack after panic attack. He is there as our significant other is dumping us. He is there when a family member dies. He is there throughout all the pain.
He could have easily rescued Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from that fire. He could have sent some rain or a big wave to put it out and rescue them. It still would have looked cool and have brought glory to Him. But instead, He chose to put Jesus in there with them. Things were most likely awful in that fire. It was probably hot, scary, and flames all around. But that didn't matter because Jesus was there with them and because of that, they were okay.
God didn't take away their situation or immediately rescue them. He didn't just take the fire "away." He walked with them through this moment and stayed.
Sometimes God doesn't take us away from our circumstances. He may instead walk with us through the fire and guide us to safety. Whatever it is your struggling with, it isn't about the pain, or how much you are suffering, but who is in the flames with you.
God.
And He is never leaving you. No matter what.
So walk through that fire. It may be painful and hurt, but remember who is always with you. God is right there holding your hand and comforting you every step of the way.
