I have always thought fire places were beautiful and I love to watch fames dancing. I guess you could say I have a slight fascination of flames. I enjoy watching their flickering, dancing movement as they changes shape, size, and color while they burn. I thought about my interest in fires today as I studied about the fires that often come into a Christian’s life and wondered if perhaps I had found the source of my fascination of flames. Perhaps I am fascinated with fires because I have been in so many fires in my own life! There has certainly been no shortage of fires in my life; that’s for sure!
As I find myself in what seems to be yet another fire, I realize that it is pointless and even counterproductive to wish to be relieved from this trial. Sometimes the best way out is to go through not around the difficulty. “God did not rescue these men from the fire. He rescued them in the fire.” This is a quote by David Jeremiah in reference to the three Hebrew boys that were thrown into the fiery furnace. I have learned that sometimes the miracle is not that you escaped the furnace but that God met you right there in the midst of the flames!
You see I have learned a few things while in the midst of the hottest flames that I would like to share with you today, my friend. One is that God will give you the courage that you need to make it through. When the very thing you didn’t want happens, then God will give you what you need to get through it. I know because I have been there and He has helped me do things I never dreamed I could do. He met me right there in the midst of the flames and He walked me through the fire! And you want to know a secret? He will do the exact same thing for you, my friend!
Whatever you are facing today, beloved, God can give you whatever you need to get through it. He will not leave you to face it alone. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you” Isaiah 43:2. God walks through the fire with you and helps you to endure the flames, no matter how hot they may get. And with His help, you will find courage you never knew you never had. He will empower you to do His will!
The next thing I have learned in the flames is His love becomes more real to you in those flames than it has ever been before. There is something about going through a fire together that draws people closer together and that is even more evident when that Someone is your loving heavenly Father. If you are looking for Him, you will see a side of Him you have never seen in the midst of those flames. As He draws you to His side, His tender love envelops you and teaches you new things about Him. He reveals a new side of Himself each time you go through the flames with Him!
That alone is reason enough not to fear or dread the flames. Knowing that He will walk through the fire with you, knowing that He will reveal a new side of Himself to you is reason enough to learn to embrace the flames. A sweet lady recently shared a quote by Charles H. Spurgeon with me that really spoke to me. “I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.” Wow! What a thought! Even if it hurts, if it throws us up against Him, is it really all that bad? That’s definitely something to think about when you find yourself in the midst of the flames.
Something else I have learned, not necessarily while in the fire, but more often as I stood on the other side of the fire was this. If you allow God to work on you in the fire, you will come out of the flames stronger and braver than you were before. You come out stronger and braver because you have seen Him and you have seen that He can be trusted; therefore, you are stronger and braver than when you first entered the flames. Fire tests you but it also proves your faith. Fire is both what tries to destroy you and what ultimately purifies you and makes you more beautiful.
If you will allow Him to do the work He wants to do through whatever fire He has allowed or perhaps even brought into your life, you will be stronger and braver as a result. You will be more beautiful because He will use this fire to burn away even more impurities from your life. He will use this fire to burn away the fears you have clung to. He will use this fire to make you more like Him. When you look at what the purpose of the fire is, then it doesn’t seem so bad! It’s just that when you’re in the midst of one, it sure seems like it is going to destroy you sometimes.
“The ropes that bound the hands of the three Hebrew men were burned off in the furnace while they themselves were unharmed. It’s an interesting reminder to us that sometimes God puts us in the fire so He can purge from us the things that are holding us back and holding us down and keeping us from walking free in the will of God” – David Jeremiah. Maybe this fire hasn’t been sent to destroy you but to destroy whatever is hindering you to walk free in the will of God. Maybe this fire has been sent to burn away whatever is holding you back from being all that God has called you to be!
When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came out of the fire, they had a testimony that no one had ever had. They were able to influence an entire kingdom because of their obedience and faithfulness to God. Even though it had led them into the furnace, I can assure you that it was one experience they wouldn’t trade for anything in the world! Sometimes the things you learn in the midst of the flames become a treasure worth more than anything in the world to you. If you will embrace the flames rather than run from them, it will completely change your life.
You will learn things in the fire that you have never learned before! Some lessons may come the hard way but that just makes them more precious to you after you have endured and seen Him work through the fire. “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised” Hebrews 10:36 (ESV). No matter how hot the flames may be around you right now, my beloved, I urge you not to give up. Cling to Him and keep walking through this fire. Keep going and pray for Him to help you learn whatever He is trying to teach you through this.
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” James 1:2-4. It took me a very long time to understand what James meant by saying this to the Christians who were being persecuted but at long last I finally understand. He is telling us to look at trials as a good thing not because we enjoy them but because of what they are doing in us. Trials when handled correctly, make us more like Jesus! My friend, learn to embrace the trials.
This has not been sent to destroy you but to refine you. It has been allowed because when you come out the other side you are going to be more beautiful, more like Him. This flame has not been sent to harm you but to help you. As crazy as it sounds, if you will learn to embrace the trials, you will be learning to allow the Holy Spirit to do the work in you that God deems necessary. And you will be learning to look for the good that is going to come out of it, rather than allowing the problems to cloud your vision of Him. You will be learning to be more like Him!
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. Romans 8:18
Katrina Douglas
10/24/2022
