One of the most difficult struggles of the soul is to fully embrace what our head knows to be true. For example, on one occasion, the disciples knew in their heads that Jesus had already assured them safe passage to the other shore of the lake. But when the storm raged, this head knowledge did little to bring heart reassurance. So it is with trials. In the midst of the trial, it seems wrong to connect suffering and pain with the goodness of Jesus. The much-loved hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” includes this line: “Are you weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?” Doesn’t this picture seem disconnected from the concept of friendship? Faith is the precious link that connects heart assurance to head knowledge. “The Lord trieth the heart.” This burden I am bearing is not disconnected from God. He has not forgotten, this is not without meaning. The good Shepherd has not abandoned His sheep in the midst of the furnace. Instead, He assures us that He has chosen us in the furnace of affliction. Like the fining pot for silver and the furnace for gold, so the Lord’s purpose for you, child of God, is to remove any and every thing that does not look like Him. For the child of God, this fining pot is called life. As conflicted as life can be, even life itself cannot separate you from His love. And His love does not just begin when the cruelty of life is over. His love is a very present help in life as He, in love, tries the heart.