I heard two songs, plus Bible verses, that became my themes for this year and last year.

I heard this song: “Found Me In The Fire.” I knew that God was speaking to me. It has become my theme for 2026. It is so important that we hear God’s voice. Then we can get our instruction that we need for the season. We are studying Proverbs 12:1. It is “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid” (NKJV). I don’t want to be stupid. I need to know that I’m on the right track.

Last year, my theme was “Trust In God” by Elevation Worship. Our scriptures were Psalm 119:42 and Matthew 12:17-21. Verse 21 states, “And in His name Gentiles will trust.” I spent a year singing this song and repeating these scriptures.

Then I prayed about our new theme, “Found Me In The Fire.” That spirit filled my spirit. Proverbs 6:27 talks about taking fire to your bosom and not being burned. Wow! Then the spirit lead me to Luke 7:9, the story of the centurion who has faith that his servant will be made well. It talks about my faith, and maybe it talks about yours too.

If we truly trust God, we really should have a strong faith, one that can’t be shaken. With so much going on in the world, we must have strong faith. I felt God in Jesus wanted to test my faith and yours too. As we loved that song, “Trust In God,” I wondered if we really do.

I told you my theme for 2026 is “Found Me In The Fire.” We know from the Bible that fire is a tester of our faith and a refiner. It gets rid of things that are not of God in Jesus. In 1 John 4:1, it tells us to test the spirits: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits.”

I used to hate tests, but now, I see the importance of them! How are you going to know that you know if you don’t test it? Why take a class but don’t know what you got out of it? We can waste so much time on foolishness.

Let’s get back to why God found us in the fire. God in the spirit finally gave me an answer: the purpose is to remember that we trust God in Jesus Christ. Can you show it, or are you still holding back?

The spirit led me to a story of real faith: Daniel 3:15-27. This is the story of three Hebrews boys of real faith: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. This took me back to Proverbs 6:27. Faith is what it takes. What is the lesson of this story?

1. Unwavering faith

Do you have that kind of faith? If you were in a situation like this, what would you do? This is just like David when Goliath was talking about his God. Would you stand up? We get upset about what people say. But God has told me things that have come true.

2. God’s presence

Have you ever felt the presence of the Lord? Have you felt warmth that surrounds you or even seen it? It is so awesome to see the presence of Lord! Try it, or look for it!

3. Courage to stand firm

Courage is a mighty thing to have. It can really make a difference in your life and the life of someone who is watching you. People are watching to see God’s word. If He shows other people going through, they can too.

This year has God found us in the fire to test us in this season? Time is really moving. So we need to know for real, do we truly believe? Do we really have faith? Now, the test begins.

How will you score on the Lord’s side or the bad side? Now you can still change; it’s never too late if you are still alive!

Has God found you in the fire?

Remember 1 Corinthians 3:13: “Each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.”

Rev. Velinda Smith, New Life Wake Up Ministries, Inc., Williamsport