Be the Fourth One in the Fire

Life is full of storms, deserts and times of refining. Sometimes we create the circumstances that seem to beat us down. Sometimes it's the luck of the draw. And sometimes it's a personalized attack because of our faith.

I am reminded of the story in the book of Daniel of the three friends who were thrown into the furnace. These friends were instructed to bow down to a statue of the king, but they refused to do so, because of their belief in the One True God. Because of their actions, the king demanded that they be thrown into a furnace to die.

Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

In the face of injustice and persecution, the three friends didn't argue their cause, they didn't stage a revolt, they didn't run and hide. Instead they professed their belief that God could save them and their assurance that even if He didn't, they would remain faithful.

Lately I've been walking with some friends through a firestorm of heartache and injustice. After years of running from God, the parents have fully surrendered and committed to live for Him. In the midst of their excitement and earnest desire to be discipled, the family was hit with accusations that have led to a human services investigation.

Is it a coincidence that just as this family has committed to living for God, they face persecution? There were years when the parents partied and lived selfishly, but now that they are united in growing as a family, the accusations come.

Back to our story. The friends were thrown into the furnace, but they didn't burn. The king looked in and saw four men. "25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” The men were extracted from the furnace, "27b They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them."

Despite being in harm's way, with no conceivable way out, God was with them in the fire and protected them from harm. As a Christian, we serve a God who enters into our pain, our suffering, our injustice. He isn't far off, He isn't apathetic. He is Emmanuel, God with us.

As a Christian and as a friend, I want to help end suffering and fight injustice; and oftentimes, that's what we are called to do. But sometimes being Jesus's hands and feet means climbing into the fire with them. Just sitting there in their pain, in their unfair circumstances, so they won't feel alone. Yes, Jesus is with them and won't ever leave them, but we are also needed to give His presence physical form. For me this week it meant sitting in family court. Other times it is sitting bedside while a friend convulses with fever. It may mean late night phone calls or early morning walks. When the heat turns up, don't pull away. Draw closer. Be the fourth one in the fire.

Fallow Me

I've been thinking lately about the push and pull to be constantly producing. Ingrained in "Western" culture is the expectation to be constantly growing, producing and "bettering" one's situation. Striving for the American dream, and one-upping the neighbors keeps people moving at a frenetic pace.

In the 1930's, the United States suffered a severe drought, leading to the Great Depression. The cause of the drought was over-use of the land and an abandonment of centuries-old soil conservation practices. Farmers demanded more from the land than it could sustain and the entire country suffered for a decade.

Several millennia earlier, God outlined crop practices for His people, the Israelites. Exodus 23:10-11 says, “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops,11 but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove."

Rotating crops and allowing fields to fallow is the best way, to this day, to cultivate healthy and productive soil. God's plan provided rest for the land, work/life balance for the farmer and provision for the poor.

Do you ever feel like you are in a fallow season in your life? That instead of producing, like you normally would, you are stagnant, left untended, diminished and barely of use? This is the season I've been in for longer than I'd prefer. I went from a job supporting students involved in the criminal justice system, with a caseload of almost 200, to sitting in Covid lockdown and investing in a handful of young people online. The extremes of this transition have been a shock and a tough pill to swallow.

I'm encouraged by the example of the fallow field, though. Even when it isn't being cultivated and demanded upon, it continues to produce a small crop, from leftover seed. What little it produces still meets a need (verse 11: Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left.). If it were being used for the masses, as per usual, there would be nothing left for the few. As it rests and recuperates from years of productivity, it still has a capacity to bless.

So I am comforted in my role of being a fallow field right now. This rest is healing and replenishing me below the surface, and in the meantime, I can give what little I have to those around me.

I pray that you and I would be patient with ourselves when we are diminished in some way, whether it is through health, mental health or circumstances. That we will have grace for ourselves when we just can't produce like we always have. That we would have grace for others who are in a season of fallowness. Our Father is not a slave driver; He is the God of the Sabbath rest and in His economy, all are provided for.

Time to Stop Seeking a Surrogate

Have you ever had a vision for something to improve and wondered, "Well, who is gonna do that?" Maybe you went to your child's school and saw that the playground was in disrepair, and thought, "When are they going to take care of that?" Maybe you passed a homeless person and thought, "What is the local government or local church doing about this?" Maybe the paint in your kitchen has become grimy and you think, "I wonder if I can get my husband to spruce this up." In each of those scenarios, you saw a need and looked outside of yourself for the solution.

I do this every single day.

Most of the time I don't realize I'm looking for others to fix things, but lately God has brought it my attention. I pride myself on having a lot of ideas and creative solutions. When my husband sees a problem, he thinks of how he can make it work. When I see a problem, my first response is to look around for people who are positioned to make it work. This approach can be very helpful for leveraging resources and delegating tasks, but it can be really easy to slip into "management mode" and forget that the solution might need to come directly through me.

I've been mulling over the story of Sarah and Hagar, from the Old Testament. For decades Sarah and Abraham had not been able to conceive a child. Suddenly God shows up and promises them a son. Sarah, knowing her track record of limitations, seeks a solution and sends her servant, Hagar, as a surrogate.

I'm sure it made much more sense to Sarah for Abraham to make a child with a woman who wasn't barren for the last several decades. Makes sense to me. Often I will look at my past track record and disqualify myself, thinking someone else is surely a better bet. As I analyze the needs and resources, I can take myself out of the equation, based on past failures, lack of interest, limited energy and a handful of other reasons. What if God is wanting to birth something new in and through me, but I am looking to others to take my place?

Isaiah 43:19

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.

When I first came to serve here in Belize, I was a newly graduated 22 year old. I was open to try anything. I was available to serve wherever I was needed. Some things I was good at and some things I was flat-out terrible at (construction). Fast forward almost 20 years and I have so much more experience under my belt. I know what I'm good at. I know the skills and training I bring to the table. I try to be open to opportunities, but most of what comes along doesn't feel like a fit. I am prayerful about where and how I get involved in our church and community, but part of me is also hesitant to just jump in and do stuff that isn't in my wheel-house.

My prayer this week, as I think of all these things, is that I will trust God to do a new thing in me; that if He presses me to birth something new, I won't look to others to do the birthing. I want to embrace the miracles He wants to do, instead of disqualifying myself. Will you also pray for God to do new things in your life? To use you to bring His life and light into the world?