Lessons Learned in the Fire

THERE ARE LESSONS TO BE LEARNED BY THE FIRE

When my daughter was three years old, she was fascinated by the stove. She would wiggle her little self between me and the stove trying to get her hands in the nobs and pot handles. Naturally I would scold her and “pop her hand” to teach her it was not safe, but she never seemed to get it.

One day, the inevitable happened. I had finished cooking some pasta and had moved the pot to the sink to drain it. My pasta rinsing was cut short by the shriek of my little one. There were no open flames, but the grill on the stove was still quite hot and her tender, curious fingers had found it.

LESSONS FROM THE FIRE ARE PAINFUL

My daughter suddenly had first hand understanding of the pain associated with fire. Some times, like my daughter, we are drawn to “fiery situations” even though we have been warned. At times it can seem like a compulsion to to “touch” the things we are told will hurt us.

We are drawn to the things we are told will hurt us. Do we learn from the sting of the fire?

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• SIN
• REBELLION
• REJECTION OF GOD

These are “fiery” circumstances. They will most assuredly cause us pain  when we fall in to them, because we will all feel the sting of these at one time in our life.

WHAT DO WE DO WHEN THE FIRE HURTS?

There are two options for us when we experience the fires of our own making.

WE CAN LEARN FROM THEM

When the nation had turned to other God’s, the prophet Elijah called down fire from Heaven. The nation repented of their rebellion. They turned from their false gods and embraced the one true God.

“Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!”, 1 Kings 18: 38-39, NLT

WE CAN REMAIN REBELLIOUS

After years of the children of Israel turning its back on God, He allowed them to experience “fiery consequences” in an attempt to turn their hearts back to Him.  There are some of us who will not learn a lesson even to the point of being consumed by the fires.

“Who will hear these lessons from the past
    and see the ruin that awaits you in the future?
Who allowed Israel to be robbed and hurt?
    It was the Lord, against whom we sinned,
for the people would not walk in his path,
    nor would they obey his law.
Therefore, he poured out his fury on them
    and destroyed them in battle.
They were enveloped in flames,
    but they still refused to understand.
They were consumed by fire,
    but they did not learn their lesson.”, Isaiah 42: 23-25, NLT

 

MY PRAYER FOR ALL OF US

Fortunately my daughter learned a lesson with her encounter with the hot stove.  She is 16 now, and some “fiery circumstances” she has to learn for herself, while others she allows my warnings to be enough to convince her to steer clear.

Dear Lord, May we each have a receptive heart to heed your warnings to avoid  fiery circumstances. In the instances where we won’t listen and respond, help us learn from the pain of the fire to trust You, Your Words of warning, and Your love for us. In Jesus’ name I pray~ Amen

This is day 18 of the #write31days challenge where I will be writing a new post each day about having ‘FAITH in the FIRE’. If you don’t want to miss out on any of this series, click here and join my email mailing list. The posts will be delivered into your in-box.

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