Moving, ugh, back breaking, box packing, sweat pouring moving days, I despise them, but there comes a time when one must move and in this case it was our turn. We currently rented a quaint little house in town and the opportunity had presented itself for us to say goodbye to renting days and buy a home of our own. You can imagine what my house must have looked like. Cabinet doors open, boxes half filled invaded every room, large garbage bags for the things I had decided to purge. I love those organization shows where people are challenged to purge things that they have held on to for years to make life simpler and more organized. By the way I am frequent purger. I was moving from room to room which was a mistake I sometimes start too many things then wind up getting nothing completed, anyway I was boxing up my bathroom and purging. So as I would come across a ¼ bottle of this or that (toilet cleaner, Clorox, etc..) I would just pour it into the toilet not giving any thought to the bomb I was making in my toilet. My phone rang and I went down stairs to answer it and after gabbing for about a half hour or so I moved on to another project neglecting to finish boxing up my bathroom. I remember the day so clearly, Chris and I was downstairs talking when my youngest son Cole came running down the stairs pale, eyes wide open and terror in his voice as he said these words, “Come quick, something bad has happened to my brother.” Brother meaning Trent. I found Coles urgency to be odd as at this age he and Trenton weren’t the best of friends. So Chris and I run up to the stairs to find Trent in a shallow tub of cold water chanting over and over again, “Dear Lord God Jesus Please Help Me!” Over and over it was all he could say. Trying to calm him down to understand what had happened was almost impossible and then I didn’t need an explanation after what I saw. Ladies, I’ll try to spare you as much detail as possible but all I can say was charred, blistered, burnt shall I continue. Remember I said he was sitting in cold water so I let you figure out just what area of his body he was bellowing about. Oh My Goodness! As I began to scan the rest of his body I also witnessed singed eyebrows, lashes and hair. He looked like a BBQ gone bad. “What happened,” I asked as I was looking around the room to find ground zero where this awful catastrophe took place. He pointed to the toilet and then to a half packed box and there it was, the evidence. While I had once again not finished packing one complete room and being side tracked by the phone I forgot to flush the toilet of all the less than half empty bottles of cleaner that I poured in. My mind was still frazzled as I still could not comprehend what had happened and then he explained it all. He began to tell me how that he came up stairs to use the bathroom and while sitting there he noticed a small box of matches and he had always heard to light a match after using the bathroom would help take away the odor. So he lit a match and threw it in the toilet and Kaboom. Those chemicals connected with the lit match and with fury launched a chemically invisible flame that set him on fire.
I was trying to be this compassionate loving mother but the whole event was horrible and humorous all in the same sentence. Of course I was devastated and has coming to his aid. I have never seen such a charred site. Needless to say he vowed never to play with fire or matches again.
Let’s talk about the fire and the fury of its flames. Daniel 3 tells us a tremendous story about being consumed in the fire. Please take a moment to read the entire chapter as I will be paraphrasing. King Nebuchadnezzar had made an image of gold to be worshiped and signed a decree that when a certain sound was given that all was to fall down and worship the image and those who did not would be thrown into the fiery furnace. Three Godly young men Shadrach, Meshach, and Aabednego refused to fall down and worship this golden image. Daniel 3:15 Nebuchadnezzar stated…but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the fiery furnace; and who is it that God shall deliver you out of my hands.” The young men didn’t budge they refused to worship and idol they would only worship the true living God.
I have found that in life true worship or standing your ground for what is right is not easy and the difficulty lies within overcoming the fear of the unknown of what will happen if we don’t give in. I have found that God always rewards obedience and true worship.
Because the young men would not worship this man made idol the king was very angry and he commanded that the furnace be heated 7 times hotter than usual and commanded that they bind the hands of the three boys and cast them in to the furnace.
Once again another opportunity for God to prove His power in a time and place where no one else can. I like to call this place ground zero. Have you ever been there. I am there often and I promise you after a few times, although very painful it is a wonderful place to be. In life when God is working through us and we are standing our ground Satan will attempt to heat things up a bit, so hot that it seems unbearable. Then he tries to bind us so that we are handicapped in our defense making us unable to be fully capable to battle.
What was impressive about this 7 times hotter furnace was that the men who were ordered to cast the boys into the fire were consumed by the fire as they approached the furnace. Can you imagine the heat was so great that those who came close to it were consumed? I recently attended a camp meeting where a preacher made this statement and it stuck with me. “Be thankful you made it to the fire, because some never do.” Making it to the fire is important.
Daniel 3: 23 And these three men Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego FELL DOWN BOUND into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.” Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and even asked his men didn’t we throw 3 men into the fire? They told him yes. Daniel 3; 25 (this is awesome) He (the king) answered and said Lo, I see four men LOOSE, WALKING in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
Ladies did you see the all capped words. We fall down bound sometimes but then Jesus shows up and we are loosed and even though it seems 7 times hotter we can walk around in it unharmed because of HIM.
Are you in the fire right now? Is it too hot? Are you fearful? It is okay just take a moment and realize God is in the fire with you and you will not faint. Just hold on and if at all possible enjoy the fire and it scorching flames. Learn, grow and boldly proclaim I will not be consumed. God is the only deliverer of the fire. He is our shield and protector. We have nothing to fear. I will leave you with one of my favorite verses.
Isaiah 43 1-2
1. …Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called the by name; thou art mine.
2. When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Remember the next time you feel like you are up in flames call out to him, just like Trenton did. “Lord, God, Jesus, Please help me.
