No one goes through the fire without being burned. No one goes through the storm without being drenched. No one goes through the forge and comes out unchanged, for the better or for the worse.
Does it make you stronger? Always. It might not be in the way that you expect. It might not be immediately apparent. It might not in the areas that you are praying for.
But all adversity comes with strength. For children of God, it is not possible to go through any difficulty without God’s help. That capacity is built in to us. His strength is ours by default.
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
1 Samuel 17:45, 47
As a matter of course then, every battle, every challenge, is ours for the winning. The victory is built in.
Which is not to say that it will always be easy. Yes, there will be victory, but there will also be bloodshed. There will also be moments of desperation and doubt. Before we can overcome, we will be overwhelmed.
So sing through the fire. Ride out the storm. And wait out the forge.
But rest assured — the ending has been written, and the parts have been assigned.
And we are all overcomers.
