If we really want God's fire, we have to let Him burn everything we've got. One huge lesson God taught me in Mozambique was that He is an all-consuming fire and He will consume everything in the way between us and Him, if we really want Him. I told God that I wanted Him and would give up everything for Him, and throughout the entire trip, God kept bringing things in my life to mind that I would have to leave behind if I wanted Him more than anything. He went through a whole long list of possessions, people, attitudes, and emotions that He wanted complete control over. He asked if He could burn up a few little things first, and I fought Him on it, then I relinquished control, and that was the beginning of everything being burned up in His all-consuming fire. Any clothes, shoes, and household things had to go, they were the first things. I left a whole bunch of things in Moz for people who have literally nothing. It breaks my heart to see little kids running around the streets in filthy dirty ripped clothes. When you pick them up and they smile, you realize that clothes don't really matter, and you are ready to give it all away.
God even burnt my camera (?) Well, my camera lens broke in an accident, but the more important thing was that I was not too concerned that I lost it. I was just like "well, I can get a new one when I go back to the US." When God burns things up, He changes your attitudes towards leaving them. He changes your attitudes towards your possessions and relationships.
God removes relationships that become important to us before they become more important to us than God. Before I left, God told me I needed to give up a certain friendship, and not communicate with them while in Africa. So I didn't. I thought this would be hard, but God made it easy on me. And He burnt that relationship up! And continues to burn through things in my life, burning up my computer......... My computer was one thing that I particularly wish I had in Moz with me, but I didn't. I remember talking with some people saying, if I could go home and just get one thing and come back here to live, it would be my computer. I know at least one person shared this sentiment. Little did I know, that one thing I wish I had, would be gone within three weeks of arriving back in the US. So the one thing I wanted most in Africa, maybe I wanted too much, and it had to go.
If you want the fire of God, if you want Him fully, if you want to give your life to Him completely, you have to be ready to surrender everything into His consumign fire. His consuming fire will burn and will burn up everything!
Showing posts with label Fires burn up Stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fires burn up Stuff. Show all posts
20.7.08
Fire burns up Stuff
As I sat outside this evening, with a small campfire blazing before me, I came to the realization that God is not a campfire. No, no. When we say he is a Consuming Fire, we are not saying He is a campfire that is pretty to look at and burns down kind of quickly. We are saying he is a HUGE wildfire that consumes everything in its path. Sometimes we see footage of huge blazes out in California on TV and the firefighters are helpless to put the fire out. This is the kind of fire God is. He is a huge fire that threatens to take over our whole life if we will let Him. He cannot be contained or put out, once the fire in us is started. The things we do for him will become crazier and crazier as time goes on and He consumes more of us.
Lately I have been wrestling with issues of materialism that creep up on me so easily. I moved to Georgia less than a year ago with 2 suitcases, albeit, one was a very large bag, plus a backpack. I now have a small moving truck of stuff here. I am working on paring it down, bit by bit, so that in a few months, I can take off, unburdened by all the stuff that keeps us tethered to one place. I intend to live life with just a few bags, not rooms of stuff. I will leave behind what I cannot take, because, I cannot take any of the stuff I "own" to my final destination.
When I was twelve, the first mission trip I went on was somewhat of a disaster. I went to Paterson New Jersey with a group of 10-13 year olds to lead a VBS for kids not much younger than us. We went with a bunch of other teams and had tent revival meetings every night. It was cool and we were in a pretty spiritually dark place. While on the way there, the bus carrying all our stuff burned up. We watched it go up in flames. No one was hurt, but it was a bit traumatic. What came out of the fire were Bibles, my cameras, hair things, some clothes, burnt puppets, just remains of what had been. All the "stuff" we had packed for this trip-- and the packing list was huge-- burnt up and we had nothing. We were the recipients of some churches' kindness and we all got sleeping bags, clothes, pillows, and toiletries from their generousity. A bunch of parents (including my Dad!) came and brought some clothes from home to last the 10 days.
I guess what I am saying is that God burns up what we don't need, literally, if we hold it too tight. He is a consuming fire, sometimes literally, and will burn up everything to get our focus back on Him. That trip was the worst ever, but in retrospect, it was the best ever, since it made me so much stronger. It made me realize that "only what's for Christ will last, and nothing else really matters."
Lately I have been wrestling with issues of materialism that creep up on me so easily. I moved to Georgia less than a year ago with 2 suitcases, albeit, one was a very large bag, plus a backpack. I now have a small moving truck of stuff here. I am working on paring it down, bit by bit, so that in a few months, I can take off, unburdened by all the stuff that keeps us tethered to one place. I intend to live life with just a few bags, not rooms of stuff. I will leave behind what I cannot take, because, I cannot take any of the stuff I "own" to my final destination.
When I was twelve, the first mission trip I went on was somewhat of a disaster. I went to Paterson New Jersey with a group of 10-13 year olds to lead a VBS for kids not much younger than us. We went with a bunch of other teams and had tent revival meetings every night. It was cool and we were in a pretty spiritually dark place. While on the way there, the bus carrying all our stuff burned up. We watched it go up in flames. No one was hurt, but it was a bit traumatic. What came out of the fire were Bibles, my cameras, hair things, some clothes, burnt puppets, just remains of what had been. All the "stuff" we had packed for this trip-- and the packing list was huge-- burnt up and we had nothing. We were the recipients of some churches' kindness and we all got sleeping bags, clothes, pillows, and toiletries from their generousity. A bunch of parents (including my Dad!) came and brought some clothes from home to last the 10 days.
I guess what I am saying is that God burns up what we don't need, literally, if we hold it too tight. He is a consuming fire, sometimes literally, and will burn up everything to get our focus back on Him. That trip was the worst ever, but in retrospect, it was the best ever, since it made me so much stronger. It made me realize that "only what's for Christ will last, and nothing else really matters."
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