[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 15/May/2022]
I have just completed a short training course at the church about how to use fire extinguishers to deal with fires. My initial reaction to being asked to take the course was that I didn’t feel I had much to learn. After all, I’d just recently done a similar course at work.
A few minutes into the course, I realised that I did have much to learn. I found out that there are different types of fires – 5 types, called A, B, C, D and F (why do they do that? I spent a lot of time wondering what had happened to E). Also, there are quite a few different types of fire extinguishers. Some can be used on almost all types of fire, some on only specific fires. There was an exam after and I passed, so now I am good to go.
It got me thinking, though, about life. You could argue that quite a bit of it is about fighting fires, which sometimes come at us thick and fast. There are times we try to use the same tactics for each situation that we face. We soon realise however, that just like the different fire extinguishers, we need different strategies for different situations.
Sometimes, if we use the wrong approach, we end up making things much worse. In fact, often it is clear that we are not extinguishing the fire but instead we are adding fuel to the flames. In Proverbs, we are told that there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is destruction[1].
You could look at the Bible as God’s instruction manual on how to deal with all that we go through in life, and the Holy Spirit as the one who explains what the manual says in ways in which we can understand it.
Difficult situations (fires) will come our way. To ignore the truths held in the Bible, God’s word, is like ignoring the fire extinguishers placed at our disposal. To lack the humility to ask God for His Spirit to interpret and know how to apply what is in His word, is like refusing to read the labels on the extinguishers before using them and then wondering why the flames won’t go out.
It is interesting to see that God fills us with His fire within us, to help us deal with fires that rage around us. So, let us Trust in the Lord and lean not unto our own understanding as Solomon instructs us, again in the book of Proverbs[2].
I can’t wait for the next course the church plans to run. It’ll hopefully provide inspiration again for my next article in ‘Yours’.
[1]: Proverbs 14 v12 NKJV
[2]: Proverbs 3 v5 NKJV
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Contributed by David Makanjuola; © the Author
