The trials and tests I experience don’t end when the ordeal is over. The real victory comes when it is complete and nobody else knows that I have gone through a crisis. There have been numerous occasions when I have endured the fire, only to fail because my ego wanted others to know what or how much I had sacrificed. In that moment I have received my reward in the form of vain recognition but lost the intimacy of communion with the Lord. There may come a time when God leads me to share a painful experience, but only when I am assured that He is receiving all the glory. I pray that God will help me be still and quiet instead of creating a lot of drama.
"So, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them."
Daniel 3:27
"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven."
Matthew 6:1