A candle melts from the heat of a flame. Ice cream softens from the warmth of a sunny summer day. Ice liquifies when taken out of the freezer and put into a drink. When encountering some heat, they all change shape. They weaken. They become a different consistency. And it is impossible to get them back to their original state without the loss of some of their substance or form.
Grief and sorrow cause my soul to melt. They leave my heart in bad shape. They weaken me. They threaten the consistency of my faith.
Without God’s words found in God’s Word and the words He speaks into my heart, I would be hopelessly changed by heartache. I would be the wax that melts into a flat puddle and then hardens. I’d be the ice cube that melts on the ground and then evaporates. I’d be the ice cream dripping down the side of a cone becoming a sticky mess.
Grief is part of life. It can’t be avoided. But God can and does prevent me from completely falling apart. Unlike a candle, ice cube, or ice cream cone, the melting I experience will never be my demise. He will strengthen me. He will help me to be able to withstand the heat!
“My soul melts from heaviness;
Strengthen me according to Your word.” Psalm 119:28