There is Another in the Fire with You

I live in a place where I literally bump shoulders with thousands of people every day, yet still feel completely alone. Loneliness is a plague and a kill-joy. It makes you wallow in a hole of self-pity that can easily attack your identity if not held in check.

“Why do others hate me?”

“Why do I never get invited to things?” 

“What’s wrong with me?”

The following song has been so powerful in my walk lately. Trails, hardships, pain, stress, “persecution” are all things that are a part of this life on earth because of the Fall. (Yes, THE Fall of mankind from Genesis 3, check it out if you need a refresher.) The consequences of Adam and Eve’s choice sent the world into a downhill spiral. Things have never been the same since. Sometimes life sucks.

You failed an exam.

You didn’t get the job you wanted. The drama in your family is too much to bear.

You lose someone you loved. Sickness threatens to control everything.

You miss out on life events of the people you love because you are far away from home.

You are being used, rather than pursued.

Pain is real (and so is the struggle). What do you do when it threatens to take over your thoughts, emotions, and identity? 

Sometimes it feels like you are thrown into a fire with no hope of getting out. Have you ever experienced this? Well, 3 guys have! The lyrics are based off a story in Daniel, about 3 young men who lived in Babylon after the nation of Israel was taken captive. They were drafted to serve the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar (Lord, bless that child’s name). Part of this process was a sort of “brainwashing” where they were educated in the language, literature and rituals of the pagan gods the king served. They even had their names and diet changed to reflect a new “identity”.  Well, these 3 men who loved God denied eating the food the king brought to them (that had also been sacrificed to the gods) and the ritual of bowing down to worship the gods. They stood firm for their faith in the Almighty God and were thrown into a fiery furnace, heated 7 times more than it usually was to insure their fate. It was so hot, that the officials ushering these 3 men into the furnace were scorched! However, after counting how many men were thrown in, the guards were shocked to see four men walking around in the fire, unaffected by the flames surrounding them. By the king’s order, they brought out the men only to find no evidence they had been anywhere near a fire. Their clothes were unharmed, and they didn’t even smell like smoke! (Read the whole story here) There was another in the fire, walking with them. He never left them.

With this story in mind, reflect on this song… 

(or watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMw_9AhsJFs )

"Another In The Fire"

There's a grace when the heart is under fire
Another way when the walls are closing in
And when I look at the space between
Where I used to be and this reckoning
I know I will never be alone

There was another in the fire
Standing next to me
There was another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
Of how I've been set free
There is a cross that bears the burden
Where another died for me

There is another in the fire

All my debt left for dead beneath the waters
I'm no longer a slave to my sin anymore
And should I fall in the space between
What remains of me and this reckoning
Either way I won't bow to the things of this world

And I can see the light in the darkness
As the darkness bows to Him
I can hear the roar in the heavens
As the space between wears thin

I can feel the ground shake beneath us
As the prison walls cave in
Nothing stands between us
Nothing stands between us

And there is no other name
But the name that is Jesus
He who was and still is
And will be through it all
So come what may in the space between
All the things unseen
And this reckoning
I know I will never be alone

The book for Micah mentions the “refiners fire” where he holds the gold in the middle of the fire and lets all the impurities melt away. He doesn’t throw it in the fire and leave it. The gold is too precious! Instead, he holds it until it is finished with the process. How does he know when the impurities are gone? When he can see his reflection in the gold. That’s exactly what God does with us. He hasn’t left us alone in the fire. Instead he holds it through the process. We are all in the process of sanctification – the process of becoming more like Jesus.

James 1:2-5 challenges, “Consider it pure joy [throw a party because God’s up to something!], my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds[make a list of the different things you are going through], because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance [among other things], and let perseverance have its full effect[finish the process], that you may be perfect and complete [like Jesus] lacking in nothing.” [BTV – Brindley Taylor Version]

These are the truths I cling to when trusting God is hard and I feel lonely and forgotten. I have been grateful for a great song to remind me that He is with me through the dark days. He is a trustworthy God!

Joel Houston and Chris Davenport talk about the story behind Another In The Fire by Hillsong UNITED - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xrE-JMAfMY

"Another in The Fire" by Hillsong UNITED 2019