Behold, I have tested you in the furnace of affliction
Bible verses about being tested, not as silver-linings or coping mechanisms, but surrender mechanisms I and others I know have found truth and solace in through the battle with chronic Lyme disease and co-infections bartonella and babesia, endometriosis, and M.E; something that stripped me of all things material, my dreams for myself and my life, even my sense of self for long periods of time. But through deteriorating physically over a decade, and grieving the loss of things I thought I wanted for myself in this world, and wrestling with the Why, and ultimately, surrendering, I also have felt God’s presence closer than my own flesh, and the peace and love of the “Kingdom Within” incomparable to anything I could have wished to gain through external things.
Proverbs 17:3: The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts
Isaiah 48:10: Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction
1 Peter 1:7: So that the testing of your faith—which is more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may result in praise and glory and honor when the kingdom is revealed
Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 41:3 The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness. You will sustain him on his sickbed.
Isaiah 40:29 He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no strength, He increases strength
Luke 17:33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it
1 Corinthians 10:13 But God keeps His promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.
2 Corinthians 12; Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited by pride, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a physical ailment, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties; For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 4:8–9 We are pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned
1 Corinthians 13 Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love.
It is love then, that you should strive for.
Literally burning in the furnace of my affliction — Hyperthermia treatment to induce fever up to 42 degrees, fighting Lyme infections
I truly believe God tests and refines those who are sincere to mature their faith and character. When your body feels like it’s burning, all one can do is go inward and search for the place where love and peace are ever-present and eternal—as long as one does not fall victim to the disease first…
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world
Matthew 6:19-21 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Your heart will always be where your riches are.
Isaiah 54:10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed
Matthew 7:13-14 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you"
Luke 17:20 Some of the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the kingdom of God come?”
Jesus answered, “The coming of the Kingdom is not something that can be observed with your eyes. People will not say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ because God’s Kingdom is within you.”
Corinthians 3:16 Surely you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s spirit lives in you!
"Would you become a pilgrim on the road of love? The first condition is that you make yourself humble as dust and ashes." - Rumi
