I read Psalm 66 and pause at verse 12: “We went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.” For nearly thirty years, I’ve read that psalm figuratively, as if fire and water were symbols of any kind of hardship. But today, I think about the literal fire and water so many families have endured. I think of the destruction of property and homes in the California fires and those still reeling from the floodwaters of hurricanes.
I think of the despair. I think of the disorientation of having to start living from scratch.
I consider Isaiah 42 and the promise of God’s nearness in both flood and fire. I consider how, even in the midst of these things, God declares how precious we are, how He will rescue and deliver. One day–maybe soon, maybe in eternity–He brings us to a place of abundance. We press on with Jesus. We let Him bring us through.