Oct 23, 2024 Embracing Life’s Wildfires

Sometimes the only way to grow, is through fire, figuratively and literally.

Just as the Redwood tree’s seeds are only able to sprout after encountering fire, the wildfires we face in our lives can ignite a deeper faith within us.

“I know what it’s like to lose everything,” said Leslie, a team member from our recent mission trip to Brazil. “I’ve lost a child in an accident, and I’ve lost all my personal belongings in the Paradise wildfire. I’ve learned in my loss that the more you have taken from you, the more you have to give. So, everything I have, I give to the Lord.”

We, just like the Redwood tree, are resilient.

Redwoods are resilient, but they’re fragile, in that they need fire to widen their forest. Similar to us.

Sometimes our faith needs to be tested for our roots to go deeper.

The Redwood seeds are trapped in a cone, the heat from a wildfire causes the cone to crack open, allowing the seeds to release. The fire also burns away debris and clears out trees allowing for the seeds to land in clear sunlit soil. The ash provides added nutrients to the soil, giving the seed a greater chance of sprouting.

Sometimes in our faith we can be trapped, whether we know it or not. Our faith can be stagnant. We do the same kinds of devotionals, serve in the same capacity at church, pray the same prayers; we get comfortable.

But then a wildfire erupts in our lives, and we have to readjust.

We consider wildfires, or commonly known in the Christian faith as “deserts,” in our lives to be barren and desolate, destructive, lonely and with little life.

But in Hebrew, the word for desert is “midbar,” which means “the place of the Word”. Meaning in Biblical terms, the desert is a place where God is.

In Hosea 2:14, God lures Gomer out into the desert so that He can speak to her heart.

In Exodus, God gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites after they spent years wandering around in the desert.

God spoke to Abraham, Isaiah, and to Jesus, in the desert.

“Being here in Brazil initially I noticed how the people have less than I do,” said Leslie. “But after a while, I noticed how much more they really have. It’s human nature to want more, but really the less we have, the more we rely on Jesus. And that’s really where we need to be. I know when I’m flat on the floor, I’m in the best place I can ever be, because then I’m forced to look up, I can only see Him. Wipe me out Lord, keep me flat on the ground.”