Emma McCorkle

Refined in the Furnace of Affliction Emma McCorkle

One of ten siblings raised by parents who instituted harsh, militaristic conditions, Emma knew about pain. Her first husband brutally abused her. At one point, she was forced to raise three daughters alone-and she couldn't even feed them.

But this isn't a "Woe is me" tale bemoaning the evils visited upon Emma by an uncaring world. Instead, it extols the grace and mercy of a loving God who revealed to Emma the possibility of refinement through affliction.

Years later, she now pursues God's calling after having received two college degrees and traveling to more than a dozen countries as a missionary. She has ministered to young prison inmates as a chaplain, a position greatly informed by her own difficult past.

When she was hungry, God fed her. When she was naked, he clothed her. When the wasteland of her life seemed barren, God promised a coming harvest-and now she's reaping it. Dive in, be astonished by the sovereign hand of God in Emma's life, and learn why Isaiah 48:3 means so much to her. As God said, "I have declared the former things from the beginning."

God had a plan for Emma; what's his plan for you?