The Consuming Fire

Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with continual burning? – Isaiah 33:14

Isaiah sets before us a question.  It would be easy to read past this, as part of a prophecy toward Israel when it strayed, or another nation that is attacking Israel.  I will admit that I typically get lost in Isaiah….quickly.  But this part of the passage hit me with the clarity that only revelation can have.  Immediately my mind was drawn to this verse from Hebrews.

For our God is a consuming fire. – Hebrews 12:29

Adam was separated from God not only as a punishment, but as a protection.  God is perfect, pure and holy.  In essence, He is righteous.  And that righteousness just can’t abide with unrighteousness.  If you were to actually see God, you would die.  Even Moses, a friend of God, who had sat in His presence, seen the cloud of His glory, couldn’t actually look upon Him, but had to see Him from behind as He passed over.    How about John in Revelation?  He was “the disciple Jesus loved”, he spent 3 years on earth with Him, and then another 40 or so years walking this earth filled with His Spirit before the vision at Patmos.  If anyone knew Him at the time, it would’ve been John.  Yet when He beheld the Lord, not clothed in human flesh, he “fell at His feet like a dead man”(Revelation 1:17).  Isaiah saw Him on the throne and cried out “Woe is me, for I am ruined!”(Isaiah 6:5)

I have so much trouble finding the words to express what I know in my heart.  That God is so holy, so perfect, that we couldn’t even stand to be in His presence.  But, that’s exactly where He wants us.  To stand in His presence just as Adam once did.  His will is to restore us back to that place, but to do that is to invite the fire.  As Paul said, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship”(Romans 12:1).  You see, God uses fire to cleanse us.  He burns away the chaff.

When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning. - Isaiah 4:4

As we spend time in His presence, the impurities begin to burn out of us.  Unfortunately for most of us, we like many of those impurities too much and we hold on to them.  The act of turning from the Lord for something else when we know what is right will drive Him away.   When we choose another over Him, why should He stay near?  We may find ourselves in a time of His presence, where we feel so close to God, but so easily we let it go.  It just seems too difficult for us.  However, if we want to become what He wants us to be, we must learn to live in the fire.

Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with continual burning?

He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity,
He who rejects unjust gain
And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;
He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed
And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil;
He will dwell on the heights,
His refuge will be the impregnable rock;
His bread will be given him,
His water will be sure. – Isaiah 33:14-16

As so many things do, it comes down to our commitment to the Lord.  It’s not our strength, but our willingness that pleases the Lord.  Are you willing to do the right thing, no matter the cost?  Are you willing to give up your right to be bitter or grumpy just because of what you feel?  Are you willing to be fair to others when you could get more?  Are you willing to fill your mind with God rather than this world and to cleanse those things which are put into you?  Are you willing to say “yes”, no matter how you feel or how much you desire not to? 

The price is high and the fire is hot, but if you learn to live in it you will find yourself steady, unmoved by the world, with a surety of your provision.  God will provide all that you need.  It is not an easy path.  Set your mind upon the Lord, study Him, pray, spend time listening, and most importantly respond to His promptings.  When He leads, follow.  All too often the fire of us cleansing just becomes too much for us, and we seek our own comforts to relax in.  So many times I’ve been there, where I feel God is talking to me, but I just get tired of all the work to keep my feelings and my wills in submission to Him.  God only knows what opportunities we’ve missed by hiding in comfort.