When the Fire Doesn't Burn

Good morning!
How are you this morning?I hope that you are faring well.

     Today,  I want to take a bit of time and talk about something that a lot of us often take for granted or do not even realize its existence.  I could call this thing, "Calm in the Storm," "Godstuff' Love," or any number of things. Remember those occasions in your life when your ship was on its way to sinking, and you had no way of extricating yourself from the situation; those times when all of your hope was gone because your enemies had done their best to inflict their worst on you and had moved on to torture someone else because they knew that you were done for? I am talking about those times in your life when you wanted to despair but had been in a particular storm for so long that you had become resigned to the fact that "This time, the enemy would win or that they had finally gotten you," and because you had resigned yourself to the fact that this was the way that it was going to be, it had to be God's will. You do know the kinds of times that I am talking about, right?

     Uhm hmm-m, well have you ever had those times when you had become resigned to the direness of a given situation and just when you were thinking that it was time to get ready for packing it all in concerning that situation, an unflappable feeling of peace stole into your being and you, with wonder, realized that everything was going to be alright? You did not know how you knew, but you knew that everything was going to be alright. You felt so relieved that you wanted to skip or maybe you wanted to go through the rest of the day with your arms wound tightly around yourself secure in the secret knowledge of that assurance.

     Folks, you know what I  call times like the ones mentioned above? I call them, "Times 'when the Fire Doesn't Burn,'" you know, the times when you feel yourself wrapped in God's love (when inexplicable peace comes to you, and you see the situation(s) that you thought were impossible to get out of being unwound and fixed and the pain of that situation is no more. You know, the times that I am talking about, the times that the Bible calls, "Peace that surpasseth all understanding." Those are times when you can see the ministration of the God of heaven in your life doing His "love thing" or "love stuff."(Philippians 4:7-9 NKJV)

     Let me suggest something to you. I don't have to suggest that you savor the moment because you are going to do that anyway. But while you are savoring that moment savor it to the extent that you can call that moment back up to your fellowman who may be going through something similar and needs assurance; savor it to the point that you can and will use it to propel you to step higher for the God of Heaven, Who has done marvelous things in your life. If you do that, my friend, you will be doing well and making our Father smile as He has these things recorded in your portion of the Book of Life.

He was thrown into the fire because

His enemies wanted to see him squirm

But they were dismayed to discover

That their fire did not even burn.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Jones