Don't Light Your Own Fire

Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ Devotional

July 30

CREATING OUR OWN LIGHT

Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with firebrands, walk in the light of your fire and among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand; and you will lie down in torment (Isaiah 50:11).

When your way suddenly gets dark, don't light your own fire. Our natural tendency when we don't see life God's way is to do it our way. Resist the urge to create your own light.

In Isaiah 50:11, God is not talking about the fire of judgment; He's talking about fire that creates light. When we try to find our way out of the darkness by our own devices instead of waiting for God's light, God will allow it, but misery will follow.

Let me illustrate. God called Abraham out of Ur into the Promised Land. In Genesis 12, a covenant was made in which God promised Abraham that his descendants would be more numerous than the sands of the sea or the stars in the sky. Abraham lived his life in the light of that promise, then God turned out the light.

So many years passed that his wife Sarah could no longer bear a child by natural means. God's guidance had been so clear before, but now it looked like Abraham would have to assist God in its fulfillment. Who could blame Abraham for creating his own light? Sarah supplied the match by offering her handmaiden to Abraham. Out of that union came the Arab nation which has been in conflict with the Jewish nation ever since. Abraham created his own light, God allowed it, and misery followed.

We may not have to wait as long as Abraham did, but our darkness may last for weeks, months, and possibly for some exceptional people, even years. But God is in control and He knows exactly how big a knothole He can pull us through. When your faith is stretched to its limit and you are about to break, He will pull you through to the other side and you will never go back to the shape you were in before.

The dark times are difficult, Lord, but I thank You for how I have grown and matured as I have trusted You through them.

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Taken from Daily in Christ by Neil T. Anderson and Joanne Anderson