INTO THE FIRE AND THE STORM

God calls us to move. Even when our feet don’t want to, into the fire and the storm.

God meets us where we are. But He doesn’t want us to stay there. He wants us to go wherever He leads. Into the unknown, even if that takes us into the fire and the storm.

It won’t be comfortable or easy. It can’t be. Jesus showed us that. So did His disciples. The martyrs and all the saints that came before bear testimony to exactly what it means to follow Christ.

I pray for thirst that’s deep. A heart that’s willing. But prayer alone isn’t enough. 

They moved where God led. Raised their voices without fear. Lived as He called them. Died praising His name.

God asks the same of us. That we live for Him, trust in Him, and follow where He leads. And should the path lead us into the fire, to allow our faith to be stronger than our fear.

I struggle with that. 

I’ve spent so much of my life running ahead of God, focused on self. When God stepped in at my lowest moment, my life changed. The shackles of addiction and shame broke because God broke them. 

Still, doubt speaks. Not because I doubt God, but because I doubt myself. 

How do I overcome? Though I pray for strength, I still give in to weakness. 

I don’t want to remain comfortable in the shadows. 

I want to be bold and as unrelenting as God’s mercy and faithfulness. 

Jesus didn’t serve in the shadows. He became the light. He obeyed His Father humbly, faithfully, and without question.

Though tempted, He remained faithful and obedient. His cup was not removed; it was accepted.

“Father, if you’re willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless, Your will not mine be done.”

Luke 22:42

The truth that sets us free requires total surrender. 

Dying to self isn’t easy. But, we’re called to that death anyway. 

Self stands in the way. Its survival is our willingness to still cling to it despite knowing.

Dying to self requires us to relinquish ourselves wholly to God.

That’s hard. But we should strive for it anyway. Because this world can’t feed our souls. Its focus is our flesh because our Spirits belong to God. 

Therein lies the battle. 

The flesh is comfortable. The Spirit demands obedience.

The flesh is safe. But only for now. The Spirit thirsts. It will never be satisfied with the world. It can’t be. 

The flesh exists to serve the world. The Spirit, to serve God. Its purpose doesn’t exist in this world. It exists in the one to come. 

The flesh tells us we need more. The Spirit calls us to become less. 

The flesh is never satisfied. The Spirit offers freedom. 

Watch and pray, that you don’t enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Mark 26:41

To overcome the world, we must first overcome the flesh. 

To overcome the world, we must cling to our faith in Christ and reject the things of the world.

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

1 John 2:16

In doing so, we may face physical, emotional, and economic suffering.

But what we gain in their place is the very thing Jesus died for — freedom from sin and death. Freedom from the world.

And our hope is this — regardless of what we face in the world, if we remain faithful and obedient, we will one day join our Lord in glory.

That’s what they did. The disciples, martyrs, and saints who followed Christ into the fire and the storm. 

They relied on the Spirit. We’re moved by the Spirit. Relinquished all they were to follow where the Spirit led them. 

And when the moment came, they did not turn from the Spirit. They willingly stepped into the fire, clinging to their faith.

That’s what we’re called to do.

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My Prayer

God, grant me strength of faith, humility of heart, and a Spirit of obedience.

Quiet my mind, Lord,

so that I hear You.

Open my heart,

so that I know You.

Humble me, Lord,

so that I seek You.

Fill me, Lord,

with Your lasting Truth.

Grow within me,

Your Grace and Mercy,

so that I fulfill,

Your Purpose for me.

Forgive me, Lord,

for the wrong I’ve done.

Remind me of Your Faithfulness,

and the Gift of Your Son.

Help me, Lord, to overcome,

the desires of this world,

so that I become,

a Faithful servant,

who rises to serve you,

with all I am and all I do.

AMEN.

JN Fenwick (© 2025)

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JN Fenwick/mothjournal14 ©2025 | All rights reserved. | I DO NOT WALK THIS RECOVERY JOURNEY ALONE.

I’m JN Fenwick.

Wife, mom, but more importantly, a recovering alcoholic with a grateful heart. For years, I struggled, not just with alcohol, but with an eating disorder and the burdens of guilt and shame. On March 22, 2018, I surrendered my life to Christ. I was 51. God did not forsake me. He welcomed me, as undeserving as I am. He did not see my brokenness. Instead, He saw my potential. My Recovery Journey is one of Faith. From the ashes of my failures, God built a fire in me. A fire that guides each step I take. My journey is yours. My healing can be yours, too.