Putting out Fires!

  

This past weekend proved to be a little bit more adventurous than I would have hoped for! Hubby and I were visiting his recently widowed sister in the Natal Midlands and had gone out with other family members for lunch at a popular local restaurant. On our return home with full bellies and everyone looking forward to an afternoon nap or laze in the winter sun, we received a phone call to say that there was a runaway fire heading directly towards my sister-in-law’s house!

Although we were still about 40kms away we were able to spring into action and all three of the local family members started phoning various neighbouring farmers to both warn them and ask for assistance. Due to the nature of the roads we were unable to travel too fast but hubby certainly made excellent time and we were there within 15 minutes. On our arrival we found that one farmer had already entered the property on the right hand side with a tractor and water tank. Those who couldn’t be of assistance with water, grabbed rubber “slappers” and started beating the flames in order to halt the rapidly advancing monster. Some of us joined hands in prayer, asking God for protection and His supernatural power. Within two hours they seemed to have the fire under control and the men returned to the house. However, no sooner had they finished a cup of coffee then another call came through to say that the wind was picking up and the fire had restarted in the valley and was advancing up the other side of the land. By this time it was dark and the terrain is extremely rocky, making the whole process so much more hazardous! Once more we called upon the Lord in prayer and watched as neighbours pitched up to fight a battle that was not theirs!

We watched from the sanctuary of the house, now safe since the earlier fire had been put out. All we could see was bright red marching flames, not a single firefighter could be seen in the surrounding blackness.  Slowly, while we kept praying, the fire-fighters started winning. The wind stopped blowing, for which we thanked God for His mercy, and after another three hours the fire was out. All this time we had included in our prayers, a request for rain. Winter in this part of our country is the dry season with very little rainfall at all, hence the danger of runaway fires! The men, once again, all trooped homeward, exhausted, dirty, but battle ready, knowing that if the wind picked up again, then any smouldering embers could be carried by the wind to a fresh location and they would have to begin again! Then the rain came! It bucketed down! And the men all breathed a great sigh of relief and many bowed their heads and thanked God Almighty!

If you are wondering why I told this story, it’s because it felt like a cameo of life. We all face ‘fires’ in our daily lives. Problems flare up, troubles that we may prepare for the eventuality of, yet are still caught unawares when they happen. It is in times like this that we can see God working. He equips us to deal with the problem – we create fire-breaks; we ensure that we have the necessary tools on stand-by; we have a support system and above all, we trust God to perform the miracles that we require to get through.  I learnt from this, that we cannot sit back and expect God to do everything for us. We need to take action in our own lives. He equips us with the skills and the tools that we need to get through whatever troubles we face. He surrounds us with friends and family to support us when we are struggling. He provides the miracles we need when we take action but ultimately trust Him to get us through.

When problems arise we cannot sit on our hands and expect God to do everything. He has the power, but how would we learn and grow our character’s if that was what we did? We cannot ask God to feed and clothe us if we refuse to get a job. We have to be pro-active in our lives and that means our spiritual lives as well. When we equip ourselves with God’s word, spend time in prayer daily and live our lives the way He wants us too, then we will be prepared for the attacks from Satan and life’s difficulties. We will not stumble and fall by the wayside, our faith will not falter, but we will be able to remain strong and trust fully in the protection and love of our Heavenly Father.