~ written by Connie Dunmyer
This is my 100th “Yield” blog. It seems quite impossible that anyone should want to read 100 of my writings. I’ve always said that I will write what God gives me for as long as He gives it to me. So here we are… 100 blogs in. Today I thought I would be writing about something else I’d spent a couple of days on. But apparently, God wants that for a later time. For today He gave me something else.
I’ve mentioned before how critical my daily time in Scripture is to me. It is my communion with the Father. It is my courage for the day. It is my instruction for living. It is my comfort for the pain. It is not merely a series of stories to be told and retold. It is truth. It is my love letter. It is God speaking to me – alive in each verse.
But today I was struck by a very old hymn that I would love for us to contemplate together: “How Firm a Foundation”. Written in 1787, this hymn has been sung through countless wars, famines, sorrows, days of uncertainty and doubt… an anthem of faith and hope of brighter days because we know Who holds each of those days in His hand. It very well reminds me of God's presence, His promise, and His faithfulness... the very things for which I run to scripture.
1
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
There’s a story about a little girl who was asked in Sunday School, “Why is Jesus called The Word?” And the little girl answered “Because Jesus is everything God wanted to say.”
This hymn begins by reminding us where our strength comes from. It comes from the very words, the very scripture, that can often be set aside and become dusty, as I try to deal with difficulties with more activity rather than more words from God. I cry out… I blubber… and even at times I even yell at the Father… “Where are You? Why are You silent? What do You want me to do?”
But “what more can He say than to [me] He has already said.” God has said every word that ever needs saying. I need to simply read it, meditate upon it, apply it, and believe it. Running to the scriptures is running to the Father.
2
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed, for I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Fear not, it is I. Eloheicha – my God – is with me. Everything that causes fear can be cast upon Jesus, knowing that everything that causes fear will instead strengthen and help me.
3
“When through the deep waters I call thee to go, the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”
Isaiah 43:2a “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you…”
Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Life is not a picnic. Nor was that ever promised. But when God takes me through the deep waters, He will be with me so I don’t drown. He will bring blessing out of every trouble, and even my deepest suffering He has purposed to shape me.
4
“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.”
Isaiah 43:2b “… When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
1 Peter 1:6-7 “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
Daniel 3:16-18 “… If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Even if I should walk through fire – like Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego – I shall not be burned. I may “feel the heat”, but I will not be consumed. I am protected by the Holy Spirit surrounding me and infilling me. Whatever happens it is meant to purify me from the “dross” – the impure things in my life. The goal has always been to refine me like gold, to make me more like Jesus.
5
“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!”
Hebrews 13:5 “… God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Isaiah 49:15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”
There are times in life when I am certain that all of hell is after me, trying to shake me. And indeed, I have given into the fear. But I need not. For never, no Never, no NEVER, has my Abba ever let me down.
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© 2026: Connie F. Dunmyer, All Rights Reserved.