⁽³⁾ He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind; ^(4) ]He makes the winds His messengers, Flaming fire His ministers. ——— Psalm 104:3-4  (NASB)

When we talk about our God and fire, we often get the picture of a mean, angry God coming to earth to kill and destroy His enemies. Scripture says that our God is a “consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24 KJV). So when God tells us to be “fire-starters” and that He makes His ministers flames of fire, what does that mean? Do we need to run around with matches, exacting vengeance for God? Not even close.

When Moses stood before the burning bush in Exodus 3, the bush was completely engulfed in the flame of God, but it did not burn up. When he encountered God in that manner, he was changed forever! His entire outlook, his entire future suddenly became consumed by the God He had met. In the years after, Moses spent many hours in the tent of meeting because he was a friend of God.

In metalsmithing, the hottest part of the flame is very near the tip of the torch. It is there that the flame is hot and the impurities low. The closer we are to God when we touch the lives of others, the less of our own garbage we deposit on them. The more we are consumed by His love, His fire, the better we will be able to bring them in touch with Him. The picture in all of Scripture is about the closeness of God bringing about transformation.

As servants of the Most High God, we should give out of the pure love of God to be an agent of change to those around us. His powerful gifts, His unconditional love, His Presence, all come as an outgrowth of our love for Him. The miracles, those “burning bushes,” those moments that change the lives around us flow from us simply because He is here. Let Him light the flame today!

(This information is used with permission from “Whispers of Heaven” by Rosalie Storment and Faye Higbee, copyrighted 2011)