When the Fire Strengthens, Not Scorches

I came across a line on LinkedIn that stayed with me:

“When you work on something big, the universe tests your resolve in many ways.”

But the more I reflect on my own life and faith, the more I realize—maybe they aren’t tests at all. Maybe they’re preparations.

Many months ago, I watched a Christian film about a small cake shop owner who refused to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding, firmly standing by his beliefs. The backlash was fierce. Court cases. Loss of business. Emotional strain. And yet, he stood firm and eventually, he came through it. Stronger. Deeper in faith. Wiser.

At the time I wondered, “Why did it have to happen at all?”

But then I looked at the long spells of dryness, of feeling abandoned, that I went through recently I kept asking: Why, Lord? What is the purpose in this season?

And then it clicked.

It wasn’t punishment. It wasn’t even a trial.

It was strengthening. God wasn’t testing me to see if I’d break but rather He was training me to carry more than I ever thought I could.

I’m reminded of Job. Yes, the faithful Job who was blameless and upright. Yet even he said:

"For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me." -- Job 3:25

Though Job had faith, he also had fear and it was that fear that God gently exposed and walked him through. The suffering wasn’t to destroy him. It was to purify him. In the end, Job says:

 "I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees thee." -- Job 42:5

He didn’t just believe about God anymore but he encountered Him and wass transformed.

And that’s the gift in the fire.

It doesn't come to scorch but to refine.

It doesn’t expose weakness to shame us but to help us confront it, heal it, and grow.

So maybe the next time we find ourselves in the thick of it whether it is rejection, confusion, isolation, or hardship; we can pause and "What is God building in me through this?" instead of "Why is this happening to me?"

Because sometimes, the desert isn’t a detour. It’s the training ground of destiny.

And we don’t just come out of it.

We come out of it stronger. Steadier. Closer to God.

Reflection:

What areas of weakness is God strengthening in your life right now?

Have you, like Job, moved from hearing about God to seeing Him in your trials?