Fear God, Not the Fire
by Pat Northcutt, Life Group leader
MC Midweek 5/17/23
I spilled coffee on my hand this morning. Hot coffee. That was stimulus, my response was a swift outcry —-OUCH OUCH OUCH THATS HOT IT HURTS!! Mopping up the spill I thought how some people have been burned at the stake and I told God I didn’t want to die that way, please protect me from the fire.
But then I thought about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They chose the fiery furnace and were seen walking around in it with a fourth being—and when they came out, there wasn’t even a whiff of smoke on them or their clothes. Then I remembered that of course the creator of fire had authority over fire and fire had to obey. They probably never even felt the heat.
Isaiah 43: 1-2
1 But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
