Un-offended by Fire

California is a state known to experience fires and earthquakes. This past summer we had three major fires that were burning in southern California and a few up north as well. It was like the whole state was on fire and everyone was on high alert: emergency medical services, water and power, police, paramedics and, of course, the fire department. If you watched the news at all during this time, you would have thought California was going to be consumed. I am sure that this feeling is felt across the country and even in your hometown when natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods happen.

What is the feeling that we experience when we are confronted with the reality that fire is coming? How much power is in fire? What is it that we have experienced, seen, or been told that we should be on high alert when someone says there is a fire coming? Doesn’t common sense let us know that we should be afraid? This common sense is not something innate, but it is learned. Children have to experience firsthand what hot means to know to respect fire. It is love that lets a child learn from being exposed to something after having been told not to touch or be near it, in this case, fire. How much more does the Father love us, that He tells us, His children, to be careful with fire? It’s like the saying; “You’re playing with fire.” This phrase is usually cautionary, and so it allows us to determine that there is a proper way to handle fire.

In many instances of the Bible, we have seen anthropomorphic elements given a human characteristic; analogies to describe the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. We even have songs such as Bethel’s song, “He is Like,” where God is described as Wind, Rain, Fire, and Oil. When we say each of these elements, our mind can bring up an image, even a video or real-life remembrance of each one. For some, when you say “Come like a fire” one pictures themselves nestled on a couch with a blanket looking at the dancing firelight from a fireplace. For others, maybe a fun day at the beach ends with a bonfire and roasting marshmallows, and still for others, a fire has just ravaged through their home, and they see the burning embers and ashes of what was once their beautiful home.

God is experienced and has been experienced by many different people in many different ways. There is another saying that describes when someone has been disappointed by someone; you say, “She’s been burned.” Sadly, many people have been burned in the church and by the church. That was not God. We cannot attribute the faults of man to God and say, "God burned me." Oftentimes, disappointments are actually moments of disobedience that result in frustration, accusation, and ultimately offense, so we say we got burned. Other times sure, there have been incidences of misappropriation of leadership and authority in the church, BUT that was still not God. If there is any investigation into the matter, that leader surely was being dealt with by God, and the leader chose to follow their own frustrations, disobeyed and offended God, blinded by their own ambition and burned the church. I am so sorry if this has happened in your church, but that was not God.

Matthew 24:10                                                                                                                                             At that time many will be offended and repelled [by their association with Me] and will fall away [from the One whom they should trust] and will betray one another [handing over believers to their persecutors] and will hate one another.

I’m not sure why the Holy Spirit has me going down this path. I believe it is to keep our hearts from offense. In the last days, the Bible says that many will fall away; I believe this will be because of offense. I believe that the enemy doesn’t have to do anything to us if we just follow the path of offense, because ultimately our hearts will harden against the voice of the Holy Spirit and we will stray from God. If our hearts are offended, we will accuse God, and the enemy didn’t have to do anything. I am going to tell you right now, my friend, that God will allow circumstances and events in our lives to come and burn up whatever is not of Him. If you are a new believer or have been walking with Christ for years, the time will come when God will come like a Fire. 

Deuteronomy 4:24

For the Lord your God is a consuming fire; He is a jealous (impassioned) God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His].

The Holy Spirit revealed this nature of God to us that the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Do you know why we can’t cover fire with sand and think that it will just be extinguished? Because it won’t quit, it continues to burn quietly, out of sight to the ignorant until they step on the sand and experience the sweltering heat of the hidden fire under the sand.

Galatians 6:7

Do not be deceived; God is not mocked [He will not allow Himself to be ridiculed, nor treated with contempt, nor allow His precepts to be scornfully set aside]; for whatever a man sows, this and this only is what he will reap.

The world will experience the judgments of God. Thrones will be set in place and we will come before Thee Judge. As believers, our works will pass through the fire, and only what was done for Christ will remain for rewards, and the others will burn up. The One who knows every intention of our heart will allow it to be exposed. There is nothing hidden. Like hidden unforgiveness, anger and offense, it will burn slowly within us, but when someone attempts to trample our rights, our dignity, and our respect, that fire will lash out. We need to take care of this slow-burning fire before it becomes a raving fire and consumes our heart, mind, and soul.

James 3:5-6 

In the same sense, the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.See [by comparison] how great a forest is set on fire by a small spark! And the tongue is [in a sense] a fire, the very world of injustice and unrighteousness; the tongue is set among our members as that which contaminates the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life [the cycle of man’s existence], and is itself set on fire by hell (Gehenna).

Maybe you are wondering what this looks like on a personal level. For me it’s the temptation to engage in office gossip, to be disappointed when one of the leaders I delegated something to doesn’t follow through, a disagreement with my husband - and maybe for you it’s the same. Or maybe it's a disappointment in how leadership at church, or your boss, handles a situation. Whatever it is, we need to watch our tongues and we need to check our hearts. We cannot leave any embers of offense lingering under the radar, but rather we need to deal with the emotions, the hurts and the disappointments right away. 

Signs we may be offended: 

1. Sarcastic tone.

2. Saying truths but then laughing and saying you are just kidding.

3. Avoidance behaviors.

4. Vacating an office/position/job prematurely. 

5. Talking or perseverating about the situation, consumed by thoughts about the situation.

6. Asking God, “Why did You let this happen?” or blaming God outright. 

One of the three recent California fires was arson. Someone intentionally set this fire, and it was the fire that caused the most damage, blazing out of control for a few weeks. People were displaced and had lost all their possessions. A second fire was an accident that was started by the department of water and power when a spark set ablaze the whole area and this one caused the second most damage. One fire was intentionally set, and the other was an accident. In the end, the results were the same. Fire consumes everything in its path. So, it is in our lives. We are responsible for how we manage the fires that come to be ignited in our lives. If someone comes and hurts us, saying mean and hurtful things, we are in control of the fuel that we add to that fire, allowing it to consume us. A misunderstanding or difference of opinion with your spouse begins a spark, and you are in control of extinguishing that spark or fanning it into flame. Fire is a tester of the thoughts and intents of our heart utilized by the Father to refine us. Fire is used to separate us from evil doers. His consuming fire is there to protect us. His fire is there to protect us from becoming like the world in how we respond to life’s circumstances and trials. 

Psalm 12:6-7

The words and promises of the Lord are pure words, Like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times. You, O Lord, will preserve and keep them; You will protect him from this [evil] generation forever.

It is His consuming, fiery love that guards us and keeps us. He is a good Father, and He warns us; He beckons us to come to Him so that He can show us how to quell the fires of this world with His powerful, unquenchable fire of truth, love, forgiveness, and righteousness. Satan comes to burn us intentionally, and sometimes we walk right into it and we are consumed. The Father utilizes fire to refine us, as He is working things out in our lives for good, and yes, it is hot; there is fire, and things that we loved or were holding onto get consumed, but in the end, we get Him.

Can I encourage you today that a good way to keep your heart free from offense is accountability? I was having a hard time not being offended at women after a series of painful friendships where I experienced betrayal and slander. Trumpets of Tirzah was an opportunity for me to run head-on into the fire and gain the love and support of powerfully beautiful women focused on healing and growth. I cannot say how life-giving Pastor Carina and Pastor Shanae were to my healing. I knew they were praying for me, and I knew that they were there for me. I felt their unwavering support, patience, and grace as I wrestled to forgive and trust. I would not be where I am today if it were not for the Lord leading me to take the Transformational Leadership course at Trumpets of Tirzah. I am so grateful that God chose to draw me close to His fiery love. These lyrics by Misty Edwards capture a little of what I am trying to say: “Come as close as you want. Consume this heart that longs to burn. I know Your Fire can hurt, but I would be worse here without You.” 

Let's Pray Together:

Father, I want Your consuming fire to free me from my sin, shame and regret. Burn freely and purge my life from destructive patterns and unforgiveness. Come in like a ravaging Fire against all my enemies and destroy unrighteous thinking, habits and words from my generation. And I ask that you free my children’s children. Refine me like gold, and let what honors You remain. Let it be for Your glory. In Jesus name, Amen.