When we saw the gray smoke escaping like a thief from the church windows, we weren’t thinking about the building. We were thinking about the people we love who worship there each Sunday and who have blessed our lives throughout the week.

No one was injured in the fire that heavily damaged the Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church building in Wilkinsburg, Pa., on Feb. 24. But a lot of hearts were heavy as they watched their newly remodeled building being devastated by smoke, fire, and by the water needed to save what was left. They are like any other church of God’s precious people, in that they already had many heavy burdens in their lives; so this was a difficult additional blow. Incredibly, another OP Church in that presbytery was to lose a building by fire just days later.

From the moment we arrived on the scene in Wilkinsburg, though, we saw the light of God’s promises reflected in members’ eyes—an assurance that He was in control and would work all ...