Whether you see it or not, we are sitting in fire. Everything around us is caught in a flame, yet… it is not consumed.
As I look around the space I occupy—this laptop, desk, the chair I sit in, my coffee, the books to my right, a lamp, and a small monument on my desk that reads “PRAY FIRST,” more books on the mantel beneath the TV, our dog Rocky at my side, firewood, fireplace tools at the floor, and recliners to my left—everything is ablaze, yet not consumed.
Can you see it where you are?
Who or what is physically present with you? When you think, what words give your thoughts form and shape? What does your past, present, and future look like? Are you seated or moving? Are you outside or inside? Can you imagine everything in your view—ablaze with fire—yet… not consumed?
The material and the moment remain intact; and as we stay present and aware of our surroundings, we begin to notice something deeper: time itself is consumed by fire. To make sense of this fire, I must be still. I must listen for the One who speaks from the fire. Because the One who speaks from the fire that does not consume is the One who makes the space we now share sacred and holy.
The One who speaks draws our attention to the Word. Let’s see what happens when we pay attention:
Romans 8:3-8
3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Let this pierce through pretense: walking by the flesh isn’t just a bad idea—it’s death. The fleshly mind cannot submit to God. This isn’t a struggle; it’s an enmity. Who or what is steering your mind?
Acts 17:24-31
24 The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;
25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;
26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’
29 Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.
30 Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,
31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.
He is not far. The world is ablaze with His nearness. But will we grope for Him through smoke or walk by the Spirit through fire?
1 Corinthians 3:11-15
11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.
14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
This fire reveals what was hidden. Are we building with weightless, flammable materials—or with faith, obedience, and truth that withstands?
1 Corinthians 3:16-18
16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.
There is no neutral ground: we are either stewards of the Spirit’s dwelling or self-deceived destroyers of the holy. What we call “wisdom” may be smoke that blinds.
Revelation 3:17-19
17 Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,
18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.
Self-sufficiency is a lie. Real riches come through refining. And refining only comes through fire. Can we endure the fire of love that disciplines us?
Revelation 21:17-21
17 And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements.
18 The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
19 The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;
20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
Here is the end for those who endure: not ruin, but radiance. The fire of God refines us now so that we may walk one day on streets that shine with His glory.
Spiritual Direction
The helm—the place of direction, responsibility, and surrender. It is for every soul choosing, day by day, how to navigate this world. The world is not neutral. The current always pulls. The question is not if you are steering, but how—and under whose influence.
Who is truly at the helm of your life? (Proverbs 3:5–6)
Is your direction set by your desires, or by the Word of God? (Psalm 119:105)
To walk by the flesh is to be governed by what is seen, felt, and self-driven. It demands clarity before obedience, comfort before sacrifice, and reward without refinement. It insists on outcomes we can predict and paths we can control.
To walk by the Spirit is to be governed by what is unseen but sure. It trusts in the Word when the way is dark. It yields control, embraces correction, and moves in faith when feelings lag behind. It is not blind—it is surrendered.
Every day, the helm is in your hands. Not as a fleshly tyrant, but as a spirit-filled vessel.
Will you grip it with flesh—or release it to the Spirit?
Let the One who speaks from the fire lead you through it.
Your ship is ablaze.
It’s time to build what lasts.
TIME FOR PROVIDENCE 
Leave a comment