Holiness: Through the Fire, Part II
“These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:7
Last February, while leading a group of 45 people touring Jerusalem, I received a phone call that my newborn baby needed heart surgery. I rushed to the hospital and that was the beginning of one of the hardest experiences of my life. A few days later, I took my 2-month-old daughter to the surgery room, kissed her, and handed her over to the surgeon who would attempt to repair her constricted Aorta. She was put to sleep, and after a few hours, was rolled out from the operating room with tubes coming out of her tiny body and breathing from a respirator. We spent almost 5 days in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, praying that she would wake up, and afterwards, praying that her legs would move. We steadfastly prayed for her spirit and prayed for the other seriously ill children who were in the PICU as well. A few days passed and we were moved to another less pleasant department in the hospital, where the staff was less friendly, and where it was impossible to get any sleep due to the constant beeping of the monitors and the other sick children crying through the night. After a week of no sleep and seeing our daughter suffer like that, needless to say, I was stressed, exhausted, and down right broken.
I will never forget the moment that God spoke to me in the midst of this difficult time. It was after Noia was taken off pain medication and given only Tylenol to manage the pain. I was holding her and she was crying from pain; I prayed and it seemed like the pain was getting worse. I prayed more but nothing helped. At a certain point, I started to sing worship songs, and she finally fell asleep. However, every time I sat down to try to get some sleep myself, she would wake up. I ended up standing for a few hours that night, holding and rocking her.
My body was hurting, and I was both physically and emotionally exhausted, as well as spiritually drained. At that point, for the first time since it all started, I asked God “Why?” Immediately, I saw a picture of a bathtub filled with filthy water. Then I saw the Lord removing the plug and draining the dirty water. He then put the plug back in and replenished the tub with fresh, clean water. It was at that point that I felt a deep unmistakable peace and I understood what God was doing in my life through this trial.
God allowed me to go through the fire. In that terribly difficult time, He was refining me so that I would reflect more of His image, and that more of the things of this world would be removed from my life. He was, in fact, making me to become more holy, like Him.
I encourage you to continue to trust God in the midst of fire – follow Him and be faithful to Him. He will lead you and guide you into the Promised Land!
5 Comments on “Holiness: Through the Fire, Part II”
Moran, We’ve been so honored to pray with you and stand with you, not just for your precious Noia, Oriah, and Eden and Melissa, but also for the land and the people of God, Israel. You have allowed the Lord to refine you through all of these events and He has even more deepness and richness in store for you and yours. You know Him in the dry and weary places and He restores your soul. Bruce and I and the boys love you and Melissa and your wonderful children. We are continuing to pray with you for Noia and her angioplasty this coming week.
Shalom Moran,
You have touched so many hearts and souls through your service to G-d. May baby Noia recover quickly. Our prayers are with you, Melissa, and your beautiful children.
Dear Moran,
Thank you for this beautiful testimony! I remember when I received the prayer request about Noia going through the surgery. As a mother myself I could only image the pain you and Melissa went through.
Thank you for the reminder that in the times of our deepest pain G_d will carry us. Thank you for your faithfulness to Him! Jamie
Dear Moran,
I have been listening to the Torah class for the last couple of months while out of work. I have never looked at the blogs but for some reason, did so today. Your faith appears to be strong. I want that, thought I had that, have taught it and believed in it for years but since having a breakdown and then being diagnosed with cancer I have discovered that I do not trust Yeshua with my health. I have trusted Him in every other area of my life (long story) but for some reason I can’t get a grip. I have been an avid student of G-d’s Word for many years and though I go to His Word I still do not find that “peace that passes all understanding”. Any thoughts?
Shalom,
Gwen
Dear Gwen shalom,
Thank you for your comment and I am sorry to hear about your cancer. The peace that I spoke about can only come from G-d, we has His Children’s need to trust His promises.
If you are in a personal relationship with our Creator though His Son, I would encourage you to stand steadfast and trust His promises for you.
Phil. 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Messiah Yeshua !
Please KNOW that our staff here in Israel will be praying for healing but more important for His peace to dwell in your life.
Blessings
Moran