Up In Smoke

“There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.  Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up” Exodus 3:2. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground…I am the God” Exodus 3:5. 

Moses was a shepherd whose days were filled with the mundane…the sameness…the rut and routine of life.  Did he ever look to stars at night and wonder what next?  Did he ever think that the greatest contribution to the kingdom of God would be after he turned 80?  What kind of experiences with God had he encountered during those boring years in the previous 40 years of leading sheep?  The Bible remains silent on these ponderings but then Holy Writ speaks with a resounding boom!  Upon completion of God’s timing Moses saw something that sent him on the greatest adventure he had ever experienced.  He saw the fire…he recognized the Messenger…he realized the reverence that was required.  The Lord instructed him to settle in…stand still…and listen.  Both the message and the Messenger were in the fire.

We know that feeling don’t we?  Life is being marked by the sunrises and the sunsets with work days, family obligations and television nights…nothing special…nothing overwhelming…nothing threatening.  Then one day life happens, and we see something in our lives going up in flames.  We can’t believe it is happening, and we move closer to it to get a better perspective.  We see that what we fear really is happening.  We draw closer to God and we know we will need His mercy…we take off our sandals and drop to our knees.  We quit our senseless running and stand still before our God who is the only one who can deliver us from our situation.  We know that the answer to our fire is within the fire of God’s holy revelations.

God has promised us through the Scripture that He will be with us in all situations.  We are like the bush in the wilderness, ‘They will be like a tree…that does not fear when heat comes;’ Jeremiah 17:8.  We will not be consumed by our fires when we trust in God who walks with us in the fire.  ‘When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze’ Isaiah 43:2b.

You may feel this morning that ‘you have been set ablaze’ but please take comfort that while you feel consumed by your fire He will be faithful in restoring your life.  You are being delivered a new message for your life by the all-consuming lovers of your soul…the blessed Trinity.  God the Father created you, God the Son died for you, and God the Holy Spirit will guide you.