By Deborah Lovett

Isaiah 43:1-2 “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, the shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

The key to not getting burned when going through trials, sufferings and the bad circumstances of life is revealed in this verse: “walk through.” Yes put the boots on and walk through! The only way to not get burned in the fire is to keep on walking through it, don’t stop! The only way to the other side is to keep believing in faith. The only way through that nasty relationship is to keep pushing through in prayer. The only way to stop the grieving is to believe that the joy really does come in the morning. (We just don’t know which morning.) The only way to stop the sin that binds is to keep claiming and walking in God’s deliverance. The only way to be released from aftershocks of guilt after a suicide is to allow the Holy Spirit to release you into His grace. The only way to live through pain and suffering is to agree with God that His plan and purpose provides a platform for His glory.

He has already redeemed us. Past tense. Jesus did it all on the cross when He shed His blood for us. That was His part. Our part is to put on the boots of faith and keep on walking. This is what it means when people say, “Walk the talk.” There is no witness when we stop walking. There is no purpose found, or platform for His glory unless truth and grace marry each other.

I have put on the boots and have walked through not one fire, but two real life fires. I know that quitting is a temptation that the enemy puts in front of us when the fire is the hottest and the flames are the highest. Remember what Ephesians 6:16 says, “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” The worse thing you can do is stay complacent and live in the ashes the rest of your life. That is EXACTLY what the enemy wants.

Don’t give up, don’t give in, and don’t quit believing. Keep walking through! God is faithful. Have you put on your boots?