This month's devotional is written by 2009 Summer Family Retreat Volunteer Dana Hedges.

Recently, I had the privilege of being a volunteer at an Inheritance of Hope Retreat.  It was so full of fun and excitement that we did not have time to dwell on the situations that had led each family to be able to qualify for the all-expense-paid retreat.  None of us can walk through this journey of life alone and the Inheritance of Hope Retreat provides opportunities for volunteers and families to meet and encourage others in similar circumstances.   As a volunteer at the retreat I was able to literally walk beside these families, encourage them, and continue to pray for them after the weekend was over.

The story in the book of Daniel,  Chapter 3, in the Bible brings encouragement as I pray for these families.  Three young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, had been taken to a new land.  They had made many adjustments in their lives, but remained true to their God while living in a country that did not worship the true God and did not understand Him.  These three young men, friends of Daniel, refused to bow down to the idol the king had created.  Their punishment was to be thrown into the blazing furnace.  The description of their protection from the fire is very vivid.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”  They replied, “Certainly, O king.”  He said, “Look!  I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”  Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!  Come here!”  So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal advisors crowded around them.  They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.  (Daniel 3:24-27, NIV)

We cannot predict the circumstances each of us and our children will have to face in life.  We can only follow God one day at a time.  If any of us knew the future we likely would be so overwhelmed that we could not face it.  With God at our side we can go forward one day at a time.  We can depend on the truth of God’s word and His promise to always be with us.  He will not only bring us through the fire, but He will walk through the fire with us.  He will be by our side even through the fiery trials.  Even the king, who did not believe in God, was able to see a “son of the gods” walking beside the three men in the fire.

When a friend or family member is dealing with an illness it is a hard time for all who care about them.  We are all going through the fire together.  God is not only by the side of the one who is sick, but He is by the side of the friends and family walking with them.  We are never alone.  He is with us through the fire and He will be with us when we come through the fire.