I Will Survive!

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

“PASTOR, MY HOUSE is burning to the ground!”

The firemen tried desperately to save her home, but to no avail. Bill had called me en route, and I offered to help in any way I could. Later that evening, about 10 p.m., I got another call from Bill. “Honey, Marjorie only has the clothes on her back, and she wants to know if you’ll take her shopping.”

I drove Marjorie to our local discount store, and I was so impressed with her frame of mind on such a catastrophic night. As we walked to the checkout, something on our faces must have given a clue to our emotional state. The checker said, “Cheer up! It’s almost Christmas! It can’t be that bad.”

I replied, “It can be. My friend’s home burned to the ground today.”

In silence he rang up the purchases then reached across and touched Marjorie’s hand. “Ma’am, I am so sorry. I will pray for you.”

That gesture of care meant so much to my friend Marjorie. As we stepped out into the cool, crisp Christmas air, Marjorie said, “Pam, in the end, the Bible says everyone’s stuff will burn—mine just went up sooner than yours!” Then she smiled.

I was amazed at her courage. Then she added, “It’s just stuff. I’ve survived worse. I’ll hang on to God, and I’ll survive.”

Marjorie, a woman whose husband beat her and then left her for another, whose only son was killed in an automobile accident, and who had poured herself into a successful career only to watch it crumble months before her retirement, instinctively clung to Jesus when her house burned.

Hold on to Jesus—you will survive!