When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie

How Firm a Foundation has been one of my favorite hymns since I was a teenager. I loved the third verse.

"Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand."

These words gave me hope, strength and courage as I journeyed through my teenage years and faced the challenges that come with that time of life, especially challenges related to my visual impairment. I was pretty confident in my school years, but when things felt hard I remembered these words and remembered that the Lord was with me, and it eased my burdens.

Well, lately another verse of this hymn has been such a help to me. Verse five isn't sung often, but I sure wish it was. 

"When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, thy dross to consume,
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine."

I don't know why, but when a bump in the road hits, I feel like I hit a bit of a wall. Things feel hard, and I tend to worry. I am grateful though, that when I choose to turn to the Lord He helps me gain some perspective (things could be worse) and also helps me to feel peace. He helps my faith overcome my fear.

And when the same challenge seems to get worse, or harder, and I feel like I am hitting a wall again, The Lord helps me remember the earlier lessons. He helps me to see the blessings that have come through the challenges and also reminds me that He is aware of me.

Challenges come because the Lord uses challenges to help us become who he needs us to be. He is polishing us, refining us and preparing us to do his work and to return to Him someday. He wants us to become like Him, because He knows that is how we will feel the greatest joy.

Today, I reread some of the scriptures that go with this hymn (Isaiah 43.2-5). Let's never forget what the Lord is telling each of us in verse four. 

"Thou wast precious in my sight."

He loves us. We are his children and He will help ease our burdens if we turn to Him.