I have always loved fire. I love watching the flames dance and change colors. I love the way the light from a fire reflects off of people’s faces and the shadows it casts on rock formations in the desert. I love the conversations between friends that can only happen around a campfire, and the beautiful silence that happens when you get lost in the smoldering embers of a dying flame. But, as much as I love fire, I also have a healthy fear of its power. It is a force of nature and an uncontrolled flame can engulf and destroy everything in its path.
Training camp ended two weeks ago and I am still having trouble finding the words to describe what happened there. God moved in such a mighty way and I am still processing everything He did.
As I prayed over this blog and what to share, God kept showing me fire.
Fire is a common theme in the Bible and as I was preparing to write, the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego kept coming to mind. This is one of those stories I heard in Sunday School, but I never thought much of. As I read Daniel 3, I began to understand what happened in those flames. I saw the hand of God and began to see Him moving in my own life in a new light.
You may know the story:
These three young men were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to worship the golden image King Nebuchadnezzar had created. They were steadfast in their faith, and trusted God to deliver them from the flames.
“If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.” Daniel 3:17
Their refusal to worship this image enraged the king and he ordered them to be bound and cast into the furnace. The flames were so hot that the soldiers who threw them into the flames were killed. The things that bound them were burned away, but they were not harmed. God not only protected these men from the flames, but He walked through it with them. Daniel 3:25 tells us that the king was astonished because he had only sent three men into the furnace, but four men were walking about. The fourth man was the Son of God.
Sometimes we are asked to walk to through fire. It is scary and it can hurt, but fire isn’t just destructive. It is restorative. The heat from the flames causes pinecones to erupt spreading new seed and bringing new life.
It also refines gold by removing impurities, making it shine brighter than before.
God even shows up in the Bible as the fire! He appeared to Moses as the burning bush, and He led the people of Israel as a pillar of fire by night.
Training Camp was full of fire.
God used the flames to refine me, and at times it hurt, but He was there in the midst of it. The Holy Spirit revealed things in my life that were keeping me in bondage. Things I needed to bring into the light and let Him burn away. I have been holding onto shame, fear, and sin that I wasn’t willing to let go. I had pain that was buried so deep and I was too ashamed to surrender it at the foot of the cross.
Thankfully, God sent me beautiful brothers and sisters to hold my hand and walk through the fire with me. One night we were sitting around the campfire worshipping together and we could feel the Holy Spirit moving. People began sharing about the amazing things God has done in their lives, as well as the struggles they are currently facing. It was beautiful to see brothers and sisters in Christ coming together to speak life over the lies the enemy was telling and laying hands on one another in prayer. I was so encouraged by their stories and could not stop thinking about how blessed I was to be a part of this family.
As the night went on, I felt the Holy Spirit urging me to share my story. I tried to fight it, but then it came pouring out of me. I couldn’t contain it.
I could feel my heart racing and my palms getting sweaty. I wanted to stop talking. I wanted to run. Then I felt a hand on my knee and another one on my shoulder and I kept going.
As I shared the details of one of the most painful moments of my life, I was met with love. No fear, no judgment, no trying to make me feel better. When I finished, my brothers and sisters surrounded me and prayed over me. They told me that I was loved. They told me that I was worthy. They told me I was enough. They told me of the goodness of the Father. They laid hands on me and prayed over me. They thanked me for sharing my story. Bringing the darkest parts of myself into the Father’s light was transformative.
As I walked out of the fire, I felt free. I felt like those things that were holding me captive were gone. I felt stronger. I felt renewed.
So, don’t be afraid of the flames. Walk boldly into the furnace, because the God whom we serve is able to deliver us.
“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:6-7
Photo Credit to the wonderfully talented Faith Fowler. She is an amazing sister in Christ and you should check out her blog!
http://austinandfaithfowler.theworldrace.org/
