One of my boys takes after my awesome clutziness. He tends to do so in the form of falling off his bike. There's been a few occasions when he's walked through the door all banged up gashes from head-to-toe. We've helped clean his wounds and nurse him back to health. He currently still has a few marks on his arm from a fall that occurred almost two months ago. It takes the body awhile to heal.
We just finished Bianca Olthoff's, Play With Fire Bible study. The theme of the study is about how we approach and walk through the fire. Fires are going to come. They are a part of living on this earth. It's what we do when the fire comes that matters.
A woman shared her testimony about walking through the fire. She kept talking about getting burned in the fire. That got me to thinking about my son, his injuries, and what it looks like to heal an injury.
'He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.' Daniel 3:25-27
When we get burned, our skin hurts relentlessly. All we want to do is get something to numb the pain. We clean the wound and cover it so it doesn't get infected. We continue to care for the wound. If not, we will cause further pain and damage to the skin. Eventually, we develop a scab that protects the new skin growing underneath and helps to remove the old damaged skin (I know this is kind of gross, but bear with me. I've got a point brewing). The scab has to fall off in order to reveal the new skin. Sometimes, that can be a painful process. Once the new skin is exposed, we must still treat it gently. If we go in the sun, that new skin needs more sunscreen. If we re-injure the new skin, it can be painful. Over time, the new skin blends in with the old skin and we forget about the injury. Occasionally, we are left with a scar to remind us of that time and give us a good story to tell friends.
Why do I go into such great detail about a skin burn? Well, through this visual, I was able to see why God allows us to go through the fire. Isn't that our biggest question when life hurts: the why? I believe we need to walk through the fire in order to get our new skin. We have got to peel off the old and get to the new in order to grow and experience the goodness God has for us. If we don't go through the fire, we will just keep piling on the scabs. Nobody wants that. It's ugly and gross.
Many of us would rather avoid the fire; just keep walking around it to get to the other side and move on. While that is plausible, it's not our best option. Walking through the fire burns off all the old, yucky, crustiness and reveals the new smooth life that awaits us on the other side. The initial burn hurts and all we want to do is numb the pain. But, if we take care of the burn helping it to heal, in the end, we will have new skin. Our former selves, full of pain, doubt, worry, and anxiety, is burned away in the fire leaving a new self in its wake.
The fire burns. It hurts. The flames often seem too hot. But, after a little tender-loving-care, the newness that is revealed is far greater than what was burned away. Sometimes we are scarred. But, that is only to remind us of what we overcame when things seemed to get too hot.
He stands beside us in the flames. He doesn't leave us. Rather, He walks alongside us knowing what awaits us on the other side.
'Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”'
Lamentations 3:21-24
And, you never know, your fire journey may bring someone else to know the Lord.
'Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”'
Daniel 3:28-29
Love & Blessings,
Meg
We just finished Bianca Olthoff's, Play With Fire Bible study. The theme of the study is about how we approach and walk through the fire. Fires are going to come. They are a part of living on this earth. It's what we do when the fire comes that matters.
A woman shared her testimony about walking through the fire. She kept talking about getting burned in the fire. That got me to thinking about my son, his injuries, and what it looks like to heal an injury.
'He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.' Daniel 3:25-27
When we get burned, our skin hurts relentlessly. All we want to do is get something to numb the pain. We clean the wound and cover it so it doesn't get infected. We continue to care for the wound. If not, we will cause further pain and damage to the skin. Eventually, we develop a scab that protects the new skin growing underneath and helps to remove the old damaged skin (I know this is kind of gross, but bear with me. I've got a point brewing). The scab has to fall off in order to reveal the new skin. Sometimes, that can be a painful process. Once the new skin is exposed, we must still treat it gently. If we go in the sun, that new skin needs more sunscreen. If we re-injure the new skin, it can be painful. Over time, the new skin blends in with the old skin and we forget about the injury. Occasionally, we are left with a scar to remind us of that time and give us a good story to tell friends.
Why do I go into such great detail about a skin burn? Well, through this visual, I was able to see why God allows us to go through the fire. Isn't that our biggest question when life hurts: the why? I believe we need to walk through the fire in order to get our new skin. We have got to peel off the old and get to the new in order to grow and experience the goodness God has for us. If we don't go through the fire, we will just keep piling on the scabs. Nobody wants that. It's ugly and gross.
Many of us would rather avoid the fire; just keep walking around it to get to the other side and move on. While that is plausible, it's not our best option. Walking through the fire burns off all the old, yucky, crustiness and reveals the new smooth life that awaits us on the other side. The initial burn hurts and all we want to do is numb the pain. But, if we take care of the burn helping it to heal, in the end, we will have new skin. Our former selves, full of pain, doubt, worry, and anxiety, is burned away in the fire leaving a new self in its wake.
The fire burns. It hurts. The flames often seem too hot. But, after a little tender-loving-care, the newness that is revealed is far greater than what was burned away. Sometimes we are scarred. But, that is only to remind us of what we overcame when things seemed to get too hot.
He stands beside us in the flames. He doesn't leave us. Rather, He walks alongside us knowing what awaits us on the other side.
'Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”'
Lamentations 3:21-24
And, you never know, your fire journey may bring someone else to know the Lord.
'Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”'
Daniel 3:28-29
Love & Blessings,
Meg
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