Fire!
In the Old Testament, God often used fire to make a point or catch someone's attention. Moses at the burning bush. Elijah on Mount Carmel. Sodom and Gomorrah. Nowadays, you don't see God sending fire down from heaven very often. He seems to use more subtle ways - like a still small voice. But I think God still uses fire when He needs to - or at least the idea of fire.
Yesterday was Monday. Monday's never seem to run smoothly. After rushing through the routine that makes up my morning, I hurried out the door. Halfway through the morning I ran my hands through my hair. I noticed it wasn't curled like it usually was. Then I began to worry - if I didn't have time to curl my hair, that means my curling iron was still turned on! I knew it wasn't one of those nifty ones that turned off automatically. I tried to picture it in my mind to see if anything was sitting close enough to catch on fire. I didn't think so, but I kept worrying that the counter would get so hot that it would catch on fire and burn my house down....and the connecting duplex....and the pastor's and principal's house, too! I didn't want that to happen, but there was nothing I could do. With a classroom full of energetic kids and no breaks in the day, all I could do was pray and let God take care of it.
Several times throughout the day my mind wandered back to the curling iron and I would start to worry. The smell of smoke in the air - was that my house burning or someone just burning trash in their back yard? The dark clouds in the sky - was that caused by billowing smoke as my house went up in flames or just a storm blowing in? Every time a worry would pop into my mind, I would push it out and remind myself that I had already prayed about it and God was taking care of it. It was almost 6 p.m. by the time I was finally able to rush home, and I headed straight to the bathroom. The curling iron was still, indeed, turned on, and the handle was pretty hot, but my house was still standing and the counter wasn't even melted!
God still uses fire - He used a possible fire to test my faith. Not only was my faith tested, but I found that it deepened my trust in God and what He's willing to do for me.
Yesterday was Monday. Monday's never seem to run smoothly. After rushing through the routine that makes up my morning, I hurried out the door. Halfway through the morning I ran my hands through my hair. I noticed it wasn't curled like it usually was. Then I began to worry - if I didn't have time to curl my hair, that means my curling iron was still turned on! I knew it wasn't one of those nifty ones that turned off automatically. I tried to picture it in my mind to see if anything was sitting close enough to catch on fire. I didn't think so, but I kept worrying that the counter would get so hot that it would catch on fire and burn my house down....and the connecting duplex....and the pastor's and principal's house, too! I didn't want that to happen, but there was nothing I could do. With a classroom full of energetic kids and no breaks in the day, all I could do was pray and let God take care of it.
Several times throughout the day my mind wandered back to the curling iron and I would start to worry. The smell of smoke in the air - was that my house burning or someone just burning trash in their back yard? The dark clouds in the sky - was that caused by billowing smoke as my house went up in flames or just a storm blowing in? Every time a worry would pop into my mind, I would push it out and remind myself that I had already prayed about it and God was taking care of it. It was almost 6 p.m. by the time I was finally able to rush home, and I headed straight to the bathroom. The curling iron was still, indeed, turned on, and the handle was pretty hot, but my house was still standing and the counter wasn't even melted!
God still uses fire - He used a possible fire to test my faith. Not only was my faith tested, but I found that it deepened my trust in God and what He's willing to do for me.
Comments
mwah* sj*