December 29, 2023 – 12/29/2023 12 – Perfect Government 29 – Mountains
Hebrews 12:29 (NKJV) – For our God is a consuming fire.
Did you know God dishes out fire equally among believers and non-believers? God uses fire to refine and destroy. That is why in Hebrews 12:29 it calls God a consuming fire. Fire is usually something we need to fear, justifiably so; however, as a believer, you should ask God for His consuming fire to cover you. When God uses fire with His children, He is refining them into a better version closer to the perfected form that He sees us as. Also, throughout the Bible, we have seen several cases where God uses fire to destroy any abomination in His eyes. He cannot allow the non-believers to pollute His perfect DNA.
Declaration: I will continue to strive for God’s consuming fire to help me grow into His perfected form He has created of me. I will praise Him during times of suffering because I know that God’s consuming fire always follows times of grief. Thank you, God, for Your consuming fire in my life!
THE CONSUMING FIRE OF GOD
The meaning of consuming fire is different to believers than it is to non-believers. Our God is a just God, and as a believer, you know that He will always deal with you fairly. When God showed Himself to the children of Israel, He appeared as a consuming fire. Exodus 24:17 (NKJV): The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
How amazing would it be if He showed up as a consuming fire to us? I bet many people would flee out of fear! God does not need to show Himself to us because He sent Jesus to die for our sins, and when Jesus was resurrected from the grave, He sent the Holy Spirit down – God’s fire that lives within us – to be our mentor and guide.
God used His fire throughout the Bible to judge non-believers when they did not follow His law. Remember Sodom and Gomorrah? When God was done giving them chance after chance to repent and turn from their sin, the next thing the sinners knew was what happened in Genesis 19:24 (NKJV), “Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of the heavens.”
Remember, we are blessed abundantly when God uses His consuming fire to refine us and make us more. So next time you go through that dark season of suffering, know that God is right there with you, just waiting to send His consuming fire to refine you. Once He has used His fire to purify you, you will walk into a season of light, learning, and growing in His word.
