The Fire Won’t Consume Me

This past summer, Matt and I embarked on a two-week road trip out to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons (Idaho/Montana/Wyoming). And wow, what a trip! I’m rarely a woman of few words, but I honestly cannot explain how awestruck I was at God’s magnificent creation. If you’ve never been — go!

In the weeks leading up to the trip, I summoned my friends and Bible study groups for prayer. My main prayer request was that I would feel no anxiety. This trip was a prime opportunity for my anxiety disorder to rear its ugly head, and I was anxious about the anxiety. The women willingly prayed over me — and without my specific prompting, each one individually prayed along the lines of, “Lord, I pray that Meredith would be overcome by your creation on this trip. I pray that she would be able to see you in your creation on this trip and be amazed.”

In abundant mercy, the Lord heard and answered their requests. He revealed himself to me in a mighty way through his creation, specifically through pine trees called lodgepole pines.

 

Trees? Really?

Here’s what I learned about lodgepole pines. These trees are everywhere in Yellowstone and around America. I learned through our GyPSy Guide app (you need this for any park trip) that these pines cover some 80% of the park. This statistic wasn’t particularly noteworthy until I listened to the rest.

Like me, perhaps you assume that these trees reproduce and grow via birds or squirrels transplanting the seeds. However, our Creator didn’t design lodgepoles to thrive this way. You see, the seeds in their pinecones are tightly sealed by a unique resin — a resin that only opens the seed in the event of wildfires and extreme heat.

“Serotinous” is the scientific term for a seed that requires an environmental trigger in order to be released. For the lodgepole pine, that trigger is heat. We learned that mankind’s fire suppression efforts have actually reduced the diversity of these trees and the overall structure of the forest. Fire is beneficial. Fire is what brings life to them. Without fire, the lodgepole pines cannot develop and grow.

My fire

Goosebumps flooded my skin as the Spirit opened my ears to receive these facts. The Lord answered my friends’ prayers by putting creation on display for my growth. I quickly connected my personal trials of an anxiety disorder and suffering through infertility — my personal fire, and I saw how the Lord allowed the fire to not fully consume me.

I saw how he developed and grew me through the heat. He drew me in through his Word, growing closeness and intimacy. He brought me to use my pain and suffering in church ministry. He led me to write and create this blog, and I have connected with so many suffering sisters across the world. I have been able to speak the Gospel to the hurting and the lost, and it’s my honor to be used for his Kingdom. Those fires brought me to this place today.

Life through the fire

How often in Scripture does the Lord tell us that trials come by fire? Not physical fire, of course. But rather, fire represents trials, testing, suffering, pain, and challenges that we inevitably face in this fallen world. But the Lord is a master at using fire for his glory and our growth.

Consider the following passages with me. I’ve emphasized key words for you:

• When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. (Isaiah 43:2)
• See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another. (Isaiah 48:10-11)
• For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance. (Psalm 66:10-12)
• And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” (Zechariah 13:9)
• Each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. (1 Corinthians 3:13)
• Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13)

If we condense the main truths from the above passages, we can speak to our hearts: “When trials come, my almighty God is with me and I will not be overwhelmed. I will not be consumed. I will not be cut off. Though the Lord has brought me to this trial, he will bring me through it for his sake and for his glory. He wants my trust. He knows me, and I will emerge more beautiful and valuable than before I entered it.”

Provision for the fire

Friend, when you feel as though your trials are due to your lack of faith, remember: Jesus wasn’t spared from the fire. He knew his persecution, humiliation, suffering, and death were eminent — and this was the Son of God! Yet, he lifted his eyes to the Father in reliance and trust. He acknowledged that the Father had provision for his suffering and pain.

And because our Savior chose to endure the fire on earth, we now have the free gift of eternal life. If he would’ve backed away from the flames, eternal life wouldn’t be ours. We’d have no hope. But Jesus walked through the flames of his earthly trials, ultimately defeating death itself — and we too will share in his glories because of his victory. He knows what he is doing!

When the fire comes

It’s natural for us to retreat from trials and pain. And God meets us mercifully as he knows this about his children. But just as the lodgepole pinecones eagerly await the fire that gives them abundant growth and life, so God shows us that we should run to him for abundant growth and life. As long as we are in him, the fire won’t consume us.

Oh friend, how I wish I could assure you that you will never have to walk through the fires of life. However, you and I both know that it will come, be it minimal or severe. But the Lord has given us a protective resin that gives us life just like the lodgepole — and that life-giving protection is found only in Jesus Christ, his Word, and his Spirit. James instructs us, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (1:2-4). Cling to this steadfast faith; it will bring us perfection and completeness, and we will lack nothing.

The next time you see a pinecone, pine tree, or fire, think of your sovereign Father, the Creator of the galaxies. He made sure that an inanimate object would abound in destruction. He does the same, and immeasurably more, for the beloved sons and daughters he personally breathed life into. The fire doesn’t have the final word.

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How have you experienced the Lord in his creation? Share with me, please!
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Sources: IdahoForests.org, IndianaPublicMedia.org
Cover image used with permission, Unsplash.com