Camping
in the mountains was something Roxanne had always wanted to do and now her dream
was coming true. Life had seemed to be going great, but little by little, it
began to fall apart. She started distancing herself from her family, going off
on her own. Now Roxanne was aimlessly walking through a thick wood. The sounds
of the night began and an uneasy feeling crept over her. Hearing the sounds
move closer made her heart race. Walking a little faster, but unsure of where
to go, the sounds became more intense. It was close...too close. Running, Roxanne
searched for a way out of the woods. Coming to a halt she noticed the sound had
stopped, she listened. Nothing. Just the sound of her heavy breathing. Maybe it
was gone. She turned, straining her eyes and then she saw it, a mountain lion.
Fear gripped her heart. This was it. She was going to die.
Feeling panic rise in her, the lion lowered
ready to strike. She heard a cracking sound. The lion heard it too. Their
attention was drawn to the right. She stood only a few feet away from a clearing
and past that was someone’s camp site! She had to make a move if she was going
to live. Roxanne ran with everything she had. The lion jerked its head back,
seeing her take off and followed. Screaming for help, Roxanne saw a man by a
fire.
~~~
Caden grabbed a long log out of the fire
and ran toward the girl. Where did she come from? The lion closed in, ready to
take its prey. It clawed at the runner, teasing her, but hitting its mark. The
girl cried out in pain, but kept running. Caden was just a few feet from them. The lion
clawed again, this time sending her to the ground. Yelling at the lion, Caden
waved the fire in the big cat’s direction. The animal had been so focused it
didn’t see the man and stopped sensing danger. Caden stepped in-between the
girl and the mountain lion still waving the flame. The lion looked at the girl
on the ground then back at the fire. Knowing loss, it retreated back into the
dark wood.
~~~
Life can be a
weird thing. We can feel on top of the world one day and then underneath it the
next. I find this exceptionally frustrating whenever it happens in my spiritual
life. Imagine you have just gotten back from camp, missions trip, or conference
and you are on top of the world! You tell everyone around you that you are “on
fire”. This “on fire” thing can last a few days or a few weeks but in the end
it seems like we “lost our fire” or “the fire went out”. Then we
wait for the next camp, mission trip, or conference to get back “on fire”.
I
have said this before…many times really. In our culture, it’s almost expected! This
happened to me this last week. I had really been “on fire” for a good 3 weeks.
It was awesome! But then life knocked and I answered. And then little by little
my fire was going out. Or so I thought…
But what does the
above story have to do with anything?
I was talking
with God the other day “I was so on fire, seeing people get healed and
everything! What happened?! It seems my fire has gone out! Did I need to put
more “wood” on it?”
And you know
what? He gave me the answer! We walk around taking credit for the fire when
really, God is the fire. The bible says He is an all consuming fire. His eyes
burn like fire. God said that He was the fire. Then he showed me some things
through pictures, almost like a movie:
I’m sitting at a
camp fire with Jesus, He was wearing jeans, there is a guitar leaning against
the log bench and all the fixings for s’mores were on a table behind him. I
looked around and saw we were in a beautiful clearing and I see the woods far
off, looking dark and mysterious…
God is the fire,
He never goes out. When we feel that feeling of “my fire feels like it’s going
out” what has happened is that we have taken a step away from the fire. When
you are camping, at night you want to be near the fire. It provides warmth,
light and protection. But if we step away the warmth, light, and the protection,
we feel less of what we did when we were standing right in front of it. But so
many times we let things distracted us and we step away just a little bit. And
if we wonder far enough, we will end up in the woods, alone where predators have
the upper hand.
How silly of us
to think that the fire of God could go out? He is unchanging, He isn't fickle
like man. He is always burning! It is up to us to stay by the fire, stay close
to God. In Him is everything we could ever need, want and desire. But we have
to choose to stay in His warmth…His presence. Every day we have to choose. Roxanne
(a Christian) was with her family (the body of Christ), but decided to wander
in the woods (the world) which lead her to a dangerous place. But in the end
when she called out to the man (Jesus) for help he was there to save her and
bring her back to safety...near the fire (His presence). To maintain a powerful
Christian life we have to stay in His presence. Cause if we don’t we will lose
the warmth, not because it has gone out but because we walked away.
Photo credit: crossfitfire.com
