While reading Isaiah 31 outside of the nursing building minutes before my next class, God pulled a sentence off the page and blew it up in my brain.

Isaiah 31:9 "'Their stronghold will fall because of terror; at the sight of the battle standard their commanders will panic,' declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem."

The statement that jumped out at me was that God's fire and his furnace were in two separate places. I thought about that and what the meaning could be, and then I heard him ask, "Where is YOUR fire, and where is YOUR furnace?"

A furnace is an enclosed structure in which heat or fire is produced. A fire is the light or flame that is produced. Many times in church I have heard people say they want God to start a fire in them or in others. They want God to light a spark in their lives. Don't get me wrong, this is great! But, what if it is more about the furnace than it is about the fire?

The furnace is always there. The rest is up to me. How hot it is. What it is made of. What it is producing. All of those decisions rely on me. If I have a furnace that is hot, fire will come from it. The origin, though, is the furnace. So, where is my furnace? Is it built on love and the Word? Does it have religious tendencies or judgemental imperfections? I want the fire, but now, more than that, I want a solid furnace. If my furnace is reliable and steadfast, my fire will be too.

I don't think God asks this question always to show us areas of our life that are not where they need to be, but I think sometimes he does it so we can have a new dimension to the relationship. Instead of just wanting the fire, I also have partial control of how hot my fire is, where it goes, and what it is made of. I want a fire that stems from love and trust in my Father.

I don't want to just think about the fire anymore. I want to understand the fire that God has given me. I want to make a better furnace.