There’s a reason this meme (and memes like it) are so popular. This is exactly how so many of us feel in life. Everything is going wrong, our plans and dreams are going down the drain, and to even think about the future fills us with dread. But we sit there and say everything is fine.
Sometimes it’s because we’re ignoring the fire. If we don’t think about it, look at it, or talk about it then the fire isn’t there. Wouldn’t that be nice? Being ignorant of our problems can only last so long and eventually it’ll all come crashing down. Facing fire is terrifying. And it is easier to just curl up and ignore them. But you will get burned.
Other times we only handle one fire at a time. And I’m not saying that’s a bad strategy. We can usually only handle one problem at a time. But sometimes we handle everything except the biggest fire. Like I said this isn’t the worst thing we can do. There’s nothing wrong with extinguishing small fires before they become larger. But personally, in the past I’ve let the biggest fire in my life rage out of control and justified it by tending to the less important small fires. I’ve said “this is fine, “look at all these fires that are out” while I’ve still been burning.
There will always be fires in our lives. There are plenty of circumstances in our lives that we have no control over. And God knows relationships, even healthy ones, have their fair share of fires. But we can still survive the fire without being burned.
In the Bible we see the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Three men that found themselves in circumstances they couldn’t control and subjects of a king who literally put them into the fire. Most of us know this story that can be found in the book of Daniel chapter 3. They stood up for what they believed in and did not betray their beliefs. They trusted that God would protect them in every situation, even a fiery furnace.
21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
25 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.”
We will (probably) not find ourselves being thrown in literal fire. But the fires of life still burn hot and we have to walk through them every day. God walks through the fires with us. He’s here when we feel like everything else is burning away. He’s wrapping his arms around us and protecting us from fires we can’t even see.
The last two years I’ve been dealing with chronic illness that has kept me down for weeks to months at a time. It’s been a pretty inescapable fire. But I know the same God that was in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is with me. This is the hardest thing I’ve had to go through but I truly am fine. God has continually given me comfort, peace, and even joy. Yes, there have been times I have laid in bed and sobbed because I couldn’t stand up straight. Walking through the fire still sucks. But it would be so much worse without a loving God standing with me and guiding me through this journey.