The Smell of Smoke

Written by Heidi McLaughlin

In our lifetime most of us will go through the fire, or what I call, “the dark night of my soul.” The fire is a metaphor for a significant and powerful crisis that turns our world upside down and demands life-changing decisions. These fires look different for all of us. It may include a divorce, cancer diagnosis, shattered dream, a child lost in the world of drugs, a house that burned to the ground, a miscarriage or the loss of a normal life. Or so many others that beg for answers to our confusing dilemma or questions. We may in fact walk through many fires in our time on earth.

While we are in the “dark night” we feel like Heaven’s door has been shut to our prayers, we feel weary, helpless, like a failure, defeated and empty. God is silent and we don’t know how to move forward. We may not like it but our suffering causes our faith to be forced out in the open. These fires demand a response.

The strange thing is that our fires can set us free.

Take the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who did not obey the demand of King Nebuchadnezzar to bow down to this 90-foot golden statue. So the king ordered the strongest men of the army to securely tie up those disobedient protestors and throw them into a blazing furnace. Notice they were tied up. When they came out of the furnace not only were they unscathed, the only item that burned were the ropes binding them together. Not only was there no smell of smoke on them, they were also promoted in the province of Babylon.

There was no smell of smoke on them.

We need these stories to remind us that we are not alone, that God is with us in the fires, and through our suffering He wants to set us free. It’s in the fires that God does His greatest work and reveals the treasures and wealth hidden in the darkness of our sorrows. This is where God burns off hurtful worldly attachments of pride, selfishness, anger and idols, and anything that holds us back from an intimate relationship with our Father. If we let Him, He will unleash loving-kindness, forgiveness, and teach us to love mercy and walk humbly with Him. If we truly trust him while we’re in the fires of suffering, we will come out promoted and without the smell of smoke. Don't you love that?

My question to you is: “Will you trust God enough in the fires so that you will be set free without the smell of smoke?”