“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.” Isaiah 43:2

Today the doctrine of some churches is that once converted to Christ, a person is immune to problems and can enjoy a trouble-free-life. Nothing can be farther from the truth than that for as long as we are living on earth, challenges will unfailingly come our way. But we can trust Emmanuel to be with us in the midst of our troubles. One important question here is ’should we pray that God spares us from challenges or should we rather make it a point to invite him in our troubles?’’

While troubles might challenge our convictions and perception of the world, they equally contribute to us becoming stronger, more resilient, much more humble and dependant on God. If the Almighty God were to remove all challenges facing us, we would quickly realize how detrimental it would be for us as we would miss opportunities of entering into God’s vision for our lives.

Have you ever thought of what Joseph would have turned out to be without his rejection by his brothers, the accusation by Pharaoh’s wife and the time spent in prison? Had the itinerary of his life been different no wonder we would not have had the same Joseph we so much admire! What about Moses, Daniel, etc.

God sometimes uses our difficult moments to harness our character and shape us in a way that best fits his divine plan for us. It is therefore better to pray to invite him in our troubles and trust him to teach us the lessons he wants us to learn rather than always be willing to escape from these issues. God is free to respond to our prayers the way he sees fit. If we fail to understand this, we might fall easy preys to Satan who may delicately suggest to us that God has turned deaf ears to our supplications and advise that we try other ungodly solutions.

When you see some people still having their nice smile while everybody knows that they are going through tough times, it tells you about the assurance they have that God is with them. Great tests are gateways to great testimonies. God may not keep us out of each fire; but he will come into the fire with us. God bless you!