“I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.” — Isaiah 48:10
In my journey of following Christ’s example among the Inuit, I’ve learned that becoming like Him often leads us through the fire of suffering. Just as Christ humbled Himself, taking on human flesh and enduring the cross to sympathize with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15), God has used my own afflictions to shape me into His image and equip me to minister to others. A near-fatal ATV accident on June 30, 2024, became a furnace where God revealed His eternal love and refined me for His glory.
The accident occurred in Arctic Canada, our field of ministry. My face was crushed, requiring full reconstruction, and I sustained a traumatic brain injury. Medically evacuated to Ottawa, I spent 21 days in the hospital undergoing multiple surgeries. The road to recovery has been long, and my wife and I are still waiting on the Lord’s healing to return to the Arctic. Yet, through this trial, God has taught me to remain thankful, drawing me into a deeper experience of His presence. As a dear brother in Christ shared with me, quoting Isaiah 48:10, “I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.” He said that, “it is in the furnace of affliction where eternal love reveals its precious secrets.”
The furnace is not a place of abandonment but of divine purpose. The quote continued, “Look through the flames of affliction to the gold that God is refining underneath for His glory. He will not allow the fire to get a degree hotter than needs-be until His face is reflected in the purified gold.”
In the hospital bed, amidst pain, uncertainty, and spiritual attack, I sensed the glorious Son of God walking with me amid the glowing coals. His presence made the suffering worth it, as He refined me to further reflect His image.
This refining has deepened my ability to relate to the Inuit, many of whom have endured profound suffering—trauma, loss, and hardship that I could only partially understand before. Like Christ, who became like us to bear our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4), my own suffering has opened doors to empathize with their pain in new ways. I’ve learned that God is a Redeemer who uses our afflictions not only for our transformation but also to make His name known among the nations. My accident, though devastating, has become a testimony of His faithfulness, showing others that He is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18).
The lesson of the furnace is clear: “Not much is learned outside the furnace of affliction.” It is here that God strips away self-reliance and reveals His sufficiency. As I continue to heal, I trust that God is preparing our family to return to the Arctic, not as I was, but as one transformed—more like Christ, more able to sympathize, and more equipped to point others to Him.
Just as Christ’s sufferings paved the way for our redemption, God uses our trials to draw us closer to Him and to shine His light through us. My prayer is that the gold refined in this furnace will reflect His face, bringing hope to the Inuit and glory to the One who walks with us through the flames.
Learn more about the ministry of Ethnos in the Arctic at ethnos.ca/indigenous-ministries
