✨ When Love Sings His Praise –
Episode 6: The Fire of Trials ✨
The semester was drawing to a close, and with it came more tension. The university campus buzzed with activities, but for Daniel and Deborah, every day felt like walking through a battlefield.
The Rumors Begin
It started with whispers. A photograph of Daniel and Deborah singing side by side at rehearsal began circulating in WhatsApp groups. The caption was cruel: “From slums to the throne? Or from the throne to the gutter?”
By evening, students were gossiping in the cafeteria. Some mocked Deborah:
“Chief’s daughter and a village boy? Impossible.”
Others taunted Daniel:
“She’s just playing with him. When her father says stop, she’ll drop him like hot yam.”
The rumors cut deep. Daniel tried to ignore them, but the words replayed in his mind late at night. His insecurities resurfaced.
Cynthia’s Return
One night after choir practice, Cynthia—the pretty Law student who had earlier tempted him—cornered him again.
“Daniel,” she said softly, brushing her manicured fingers against his arm. “Look at what they’re saying about you. You’ll never fit in her world. But with me, you won’t have to prove anything. I like you as you are. No one has to know. Just let her go.”
Her perfume lingered. Her eyes shone with false sincerity. For a terrifying moment, Daniel’s resolve wavered. Could he really survive this storm? Could he bear dragging Deborah through shame?
But then Cynthia added one more line, almost in a whisper:
“You know Deborah will never disobey her father for you.”
That was the breaking point. Daniel pulled away sharply.
“Cynthia, listen. I may be poor, I may be mocked, but I’d rather suffer with God’s will than shine in man’s compromise. Don’t tempt me again.”
He walked away, trembling—not from her touch, but from the fierceness of the battle inside him.
Deborah’s Breaking Point
Meanwhile, at home, Deborah faced her father’s wrath. Chief Williams slammed the newspaper on the table where her picture with Daniel was printed from the Festival of Worship.
“Is this how you repay me? Shame my name in public? You will end this nonsense today!”
Deborah, trembling but resolute, lifted her eyes.
“Daddy, I love you, but I cannot deny what God has joined. Daniel is not a shame. He is a gift.”
Her father’s face darkened.
“If you defy me, you are no longer my daughter.”
That night, Deborah wept like never before. The cost of obedience weighed heavier than she could bear. Yet in the stillness, she heard a whisper in her spirit:
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.” – Matthew 10:37
She knew then—this was no longer just about love. It was about allegiance to Christ.
The Fire Intensifies
The next Sunday at chapel, Daniel and Deborah sang again. The song was “Refiner’s Fire.” Their voices blended, but tears ran down their cheeks as if the lyrics were their very lives.
The congregation was moved. Some cried, others prayed. Even the chaplain whispered, “Lord, keep these ones in Your fire until Your gold shines through.”
But outside, the storm raged fiercer. Friends distanced themselves. Deborah’s mother stopped speaking to her. Daniel’s mother worried every night.
The fire was real. The trial was hot. But so was the grace that kept them.
And deep inside, though neither said it aloud, both Daniel and Deborah knew: this was only the beginning.
📖 Scripture to Reflect On: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings…” – 1 Peter 4:12-13
🙏 Prayer: Lord, when the fire of trials surrounds me, let me not faint. Purify my heart like gold, and let Your will outweigh my pain.
💬 Engagement Question: Have you ever faced rejection or misunderstanding because of your obedience to God? How did you endure it?
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