Exodus 3:3
“And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
Imagine a burning bush, ablaze with fire, yet not consumed by the flames. Moses encounters the divine presence of God in the midst of a fiery spectacle. The bush, engulfed by the flames remains unconsumed because God is the fire. This representation of fire signifies His Holiness and His ability to purify and refine us. Moses’ encounter with God as a consuming fire symbolizes a profound truth: affliction may surround us, but it cannot consume us. God’s fiery presence transforms our trials into opportunities for refinement, purifying our faith and character presenting us like gold tried in fire.
God, the all-consuming fire, appears in various forms throughout scripture – a pillar of fire, a burning bush, a refining flame. This is the mystery of the divine, where God is both the fire that burns yet leaves one unscathed.
Hebrews 12:29
“For our God is a consuming fire.”
As believers, we are declared to be like as He is: flames of fire. Scripture reminds us that He makes His ministers flames of fire.
Hebrews 1:7
And of the angels He says; who maketh His angels spirits; His ministers flames of fire:”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, those three brave men who refused to bow to the idolatrous demands of King Nebuchadnezzar, were thrown into the fiery furnace, but emerged unscathed, their faith purified and refined by the flames as scripture has it written that everything that can stand fire should be put in fire to be purified and cleansed by the water.(Numbers 31:21-23)
Daniel 3:24
“Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.”
In our own lives, we face afflictions that may seem like a fiery furnace, recognize these struggles as opportunities for us to grow and be purified. Just like gold is put through intense heat to remove impurities, our faith is tested through afflictions to build resilience and strength.
1 Peter 1:7 says,
“These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold.”
Affliction is not a question of why, but a test of time, a purifying of our faith.
Paul writes, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;” ( 2 Corinthians 4:8-9) and Isiah expounds : thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. We have the power to overcome obstacles and challenges that come our way.
Job, that great patriarch of faith, stood firm in the midst of unimaginable suffering, his faith refined and purified by the fires of affliction and thus He says:
Job13:15
“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.”
And we too can stand firm, remaining steadfast in our faith, even in the face of overwhelming adversity. Remember, you are the fire that burns but never consumed. You are a flame of God, shining brightly in the darkness. Don’t let the trials and tribulations of life extinguish your flame/faith. Instead, let them refine and purify you, making you a more radiant and powerful witness of God to the world.
Prophetic Utterance:
I am a refined being, purified by God’s presence.
I am unquenchable in my nature, a flame that burns bright and cannot be diminished.
I am beacon for generations, more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus.
I am steadfast in faith, unshaken by circumstances. I am the God Loves above all.
Guiding Text:
Isaiah 43:2
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Numbers 31:23
Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.