Fighting Fire

Ephesians 6:10  

“Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength”

There is a national system that is designed and followed to be applied to every emergency scenario from a simple car wreck to nation-wide disaster. It establishes authority in any situation. It is followed by your local fire department all the way up to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It’s called the “Incident Command System.”

Every emergency scene has a structure of Authority. It’s designed so that the fire scene benefits from the most senior and best trained commander.

*If you know and follow the ICS – You always know who to take orders from.

In life… you and I are limited. BUT… we benefit and can have confidence because we draw on the strength and wisdom of a God, our Incident Commander, who is unlimited.

Ephesians 6:10   “Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength”

We have to ask “What does it mean to be strengthened by the Lord?”  How do we tap into that power? 

Well first… it starts with surrender. In every situation, we have a choice. Am I going to barrel headfirst into the situation in a reactionary way or am I going to surrender to God’s will here?

We will address this later, but regardless of what the TV shows say, there’s no worse firefighter than one that ignores the Chief’s orders. Believe it or not, God has spoken about your situation, too.

2 Peter 1:3 CSB says

“His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.“

God’s Word has given us direction on every one of life’s situations and temptations. The Bible promises that we have everything required to live a godly life of great purpose. The gear is all there. The only thing left to do is obey orders.

Are you tired of feeling weak and defeated, living that victim lifestyle? I’m going to challenge you that perhaps it’s time to start following the Great Chief’s orders and go a new way. Be confident that you are equipped to live a righteous and victorious life!

Debrief:

1. If you had to be really honest, which of the following best characterizes your usual attitude…. Do you generally seek guidance from God and submit to what He says or do you generally just do what you impulsively think is best? How does that generally work out?
2. Has there been a situation where you completely submitted to God’s plan despite wanting to do things your way? How did it turn out?

Report to the Chief:

Ask God to give you a humble and submissive heart, one that seeks His will for every situation. Commit to seeking it out.

Feedback

Please use the comments below to give me some feedback. What could have made this post more powerful in your life? Anything not make sense or flow well? Any comments to make it more faithful to Scripture? Is the metaphor clear and appropriate, or is it cheesy?