The fire rages and the smoke billows, and your heart is heavy with the fear of loss, loss of home, of shelter, of the very power that sustains your daily bread. This is a terrible pathway, the walking around the fire, as of old the three holy children walked through the furnace of Nebuchadnezzar. The danger is real; the flames have a vehement heat, and they consume all that is dry and ready for burning. We are ever in danger, not only of temporal calamity but of that inward falling which would be far worse. Yet consider this: our safety lies not in the absence of the flame, but in the presence of our Savior in the midst of it. He is able to keep you from falling, and His power to preserve a soul amid the fires of trial is a far greater marvel than the power to kindle a mountain or shake the earth.
Cry mightily to the only wise God our Savior, for He has given you free agency to call upon Him, and He will not withhold His ear. The fire must pass through the land, for the season is dry and the enemy is fierce, but the promise stands: "Thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the fire kindle upon thee." Not a hair of your head shall be singed if you trust in Him, and though the smell of smoke may cling to your garments, you shall come forth as gold tried in the furnace. Pray that the wind of His Spirit would blow the smoke away from the town, that the power which holds back the great deep might stay the advance of this devastation. He who divided the Red Sea can cut a path for His people even now.
Yet I would have you learn a deeper lesson from this fiery trial. The Gospel itself is as a fire, and where Hell’s malice burns against the saints, there God’s divine grace is also burning. The opposition of the elements may well be a sign of hopefulness, for the devil rages most violently when his time is short. This affliction, which threatens to consume your earthly dwellings, is but a picture of that eternal fire which awaits the impenitent. Let it drive you and those around you to cling closer to Christ, who is the only refuge from the wrath to come. Do not be as the man who, having been burned by his own unbelief, puts his hand into the same fire again by doubting God’s faithfulness. You do not need to see the deliverance yet; God’s purposes are ripening in the secret places of the storm. Do not antedate the time of your rescue, but patiently wait and quietly hope.
The nursing home, the houses under evacuation, the fear of having nowhere to go, these are heavy burdens. But He who went about doing good knows every sorrow. All power is given unto Him; He can command both repentance for the hard-hearted and remission for the fearful. The very fact that you feel your own powerlessness is a sound preparation for His aid. If you had merit or strength of your own, you might lean on it, but now you are driven to the Savior you need. Your great need is for an infinite Friend to stand between you and the machinations of your adversaries, both seen and unseen.
Therefore, stir up the saints to prayer, that model of all home mission work. Let every believer travail in supplication, for though all the power lies with the Holy Spirit, He works through the cries of His Church. Pray that the fire may be knocked down, not for your own ease only, but that the name of the Lord Jesus may be magnified when the heathen see that He is a wall of fire around His people. And as you pray, confess every sin that might hinder your petition. An unburdened soul at the Redeemer’s feet leaps for joy even in the day of calamity, but hidden sin breeds a fire within the conscience worse than any earthly blaze. Commit your way to Him, and though the mountains be set on fire, you shall stand secure in the keeping power of God our Savior.
