Faith in the Fire

I spoke with a young man this week who’s walking through a crisis of faith. Like so many of us, he grew up in the faith of his parents — and their parents before them. He went to church because that’s what his people did. It was tradition, routine, even comfort — until life got hard.

Recently, he’s been through some tough seasons that have shaken what he thought he knew about God. But in the middle of that struggle, something amazing is happening — he’s beginning to see that his crisis of faith was actually inevitable… and maybe even necessary.

Romans 5:3–5 reminds us that “suffering produces endurance; endurance produces character; and character produces hope.” And 1 Peter 4:16 encourages us to “glorify God when suffering as a Christian.”

Let’s be honest — none of us wants suffering. I don’t. But I do want God to refine my faith and deepen my

dependence on Him. We don’t seek suffering, but it’s often there, in the middle of it, that He comes near.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” — Psalm 147:3

My friend is gaining ground. And so am I.