Who wants to be put through the fire? I don’t, but I know that it’s good for my soul.

Looking at the Bible, I can’t help but notice the many people who were broken before God used them. It’s astounding to see just how many were brought down to their knees before God lifted them up.

  • Joseph was thrown into a pit and sold into slavery by his brothers.
  • Moses beat an Egyptian to death and hid the body in the sand. When Pharaoh heard what Moses had done, he tried to have him killed.
  • Samson lost his strength. He was broken, humiliated, blind, and in bondage.
  • God wrestled with Jacob and put his thigh out of joint before he called him, “Israel” (who prevails with God)
  • Ruth lost her husband. She left behind her home, and her people.
  • David was a murderer, and an adulterer. He lost his infant son.
  • Peter denied Christ three times on the night of His death.
  • The disciples fell asleep when the Lord needed them most.
  • Paul was stricken with blindness for three days before his conversion.

In sermon #2282, titled, “David’s Prayer in the Cave,” Charles Spurgeon writes, “Is it not a curious thing that whenever God means to make a man great, He always first breaks him in pieces?”

And he goes on to say, “I want to comfort you by showing you that this is God’s way of making something of you. He is digging you out! You are like an old ditch—you cannot hold any more—and God is digging you out to make more room for more grace. That spade will cut sharply and dig up sod after sod, and throw it to one side. The very thing you would like to keep shall be cast away and you shall be hollowed out, and dug out, that the word of Elisha may be fulfilled, “Make this valley full of ditches. For thus says the Lord, You shall not see wind, neither shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water.” You are to be tried, my Friend, that God may be glorified in you!



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Tilling the Soil

Choose one of the stories from the list above and read it this week. Consider how they were strengthened by their affliction and how they grew from it.

Planting Hope

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. (1 Peter 5:10)


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Darlene Schacht and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve come to learn that relationships aren’t always easy, but that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.

She began her publishing journey about twelve years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.

It was also during this transition that she worked alongside actress Candace Cameron Bure to write the NYT Best-Selling book, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical FitnessReshaping it All was the winner of both the 2011 USA Best Book Awards and the 2012 Christian Reading Retailers Choice Awards.

Author of more than 15 books, Darlene continues to write and to minister to her readers through her blog at TimeWarpWife.com.

Connect with Darlene:

Facebook: @timewarpwife
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Twitter: @timewarpwife

You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife