Walking along the reservoir, my heart felt heavy with disappointment and heartbreak—yet again. I’ve been here before, so many times. Life’s disappointments can feel utterly crushing.
I’ve prayed. I’ve cried. I’ve pleaded with God. And yet, I still seem stuck in this unending cycle of hurt.
Two days earlier, I had just come out of a work meeting. It was a good meeting—or at least it seemed that way on the surface. But deep down, I knew I was operating on autopilot. Life had been spiraling out of control for weeks. I was desperately trying to hold it all together: managing kids, household responsibilities, work, marriage challenges, and somehow my own emotional and mental well-being.
I had done well for a while, but now I was unraveling. Physically, I was present. Mentally, I was crashing. Emotionally, I was drowning.
So, I ran away. Literally.
I knew what I needed most in that moment was God. But in the state I was in, I couldn’t hear Him or see Him. Life had consumed me, and I felt bombarded by its demands.
I decided I needed to step away—a few days to escape the noise, pause the demands, and silence the voices around me. I retreated to my camper. My husband and my mom took the kids. I turned off my phone, shut out the world, and sat there in silence.
Tears streamed down my face as I sat with my Bible on my lap, crying out to God.
For a full day, I didn’t leave the camper. I lay on my face, desperate, pouring out my heart to Him.
The next day, I knew I needed to move. I needed fresh air, space to think, and a way to process my pain and disappointment.
I found myself walking along the reservoir. Disappointed. Heartbroken.
As I walked, I imagined God walking beside me. In my mind, I pictured His hand holding mine. And I walked—for miles—hand in hand with Him, waiting to hear from Him.
Life had become so intense. The heat from all the issues around me felt suffocating, and I could hardly breathe.
But as I walked, God brought to mind the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—the fiery furnace. Let me share it with you.
The Fiery Furnace
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down and worship the golden image commanded by King Nebuchadnezzar. They trusted their God and declared that He could save them from the flames. But even if He didn’t, they still would not bow.
Thrown into the furnace, they were bound and fell into the fire. Let’s pick up the story there:
“Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, ‘Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?’ They answered and said to the king, ‘True, O king.’ He answered and said, ‘But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.’” – Daniel 3:24-25
When the men came out, not a hair on their heads was singed, their clothes were untouched, and they didn’t even smell of fire.
What struck me as I reflected on this story was that God didn’t save them from the fire. Instead, He delivered them through it. And what a powerful testimony it became!
At first, these men were bound and fell into the fire. But by the end, they were walking unbound in the flames—with the fourth man, God Himself, right there with them.
Sitting on the shore of the reservoir, I was overwhelmed by the realization. I was in the fire—one of many fires life will bring. The flames felt consuming, overwhelming. Like those men, I, too, had fallen in, bound by my pain and circumstances.
But God showed me something profound: the fire doesn’t define the outcome; my response does.
I could choose to curl up in the flames, consumed by self-pity, anger, and the unfairness of it all. Or, I could choose to see the fourth man in the fire with me—to see God, right there in the middle of my circumstances.
I could choose to stay bound, or I could walk unbound, confident and hopeful, knowing the One who controls the flames is walking with me.
Your Choice in the Fire
Life will bring its fires. That’s a certainty. But the question isn’t whether you’ll face the fire—it’s how you’ll walk through it.
Will you stay bound by self-pity, anger, and hurt? Or will you choose to walk unbound, trusting the One who’s in the fire with you?
God doesn’t promise to keep us from every fire, but He promises to be with us in it. And with Him, even the fiercest flames lose their power.