Dancing in the Fire

There I stood in the midst of the fire. The enemy and all his minions were closing in from all directions. I was surrounded. “Surely,” I thought, “I am enough to conquer this.” I whipped out my sword, timidly preparing to fight. The enemy and his army began laughing. My sword was being consumed by the fire. I was suffocating. I was not enough to win this battle.

Gasping for air, I looked up. My Daddy was hovering over me, and a heavenly army far bigger than the enemy’s stood behind him. In his left hand, he held a gleaming, double-edged sword. His right hand was stretched out to me. “The LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.”¹

With compassion in His voice and a twinkle in His eye, he said, “Beloved, ‘I will take hold of your hand’² and fight this battle for you.” I looked around. The enemy was cowering. Throwing the remnants of my sword to the fire, I took my Daddy’s hand. His army of angels surrounded me as He held me close. “Rest in me, my daughter,” He whispered. With his left hand, He swung His flaming sword. “The LORD your God fights for you, just as he promised.”³ The enemy was wiped out with one swing, consumed by the fire. As the angels applauded, I opened my eyes. “Look,” He said tenderly, “the enemy has been defeated. Beloved, we win!” As the enemy raised a white flag to my Savior, He raised a banner over me. “His banner over me is love.”⁴

“Daddy,” I asked, “Why didn’t the fire consume me too?” He smiled. “And I myself will be a wall of fire around you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will be its glory within.’”⁵ Just then, I saw my reflection in His eyes. The fire was enveloping me, though I wasn’t being burned. With a mighty voice, He proclaimed, “Your GOD is a consuming fire!”⁶

“When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”⁷

“Beloved,” He continued, “you don’t have to be afraid of the fire, for I have set you ablaze. I will deliver you from the burning, but you must cling to my deliverance. “Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.”⁸ My daughter, you are my spark. I have chosen you to walk through the fire so they will know that I am the LORD. Go, my daughter, and set my forest on fire!

Though the enemy confronts me in the fire, all darkness is consumed by light. Though the fire will consume me, I will not be burned because I have a Deliverer. Not only can I walk through the fire unharmed, I can dance in the midst of it. For my deliverance is found in the midst of the fire. Abba Daddy, SET ME ON FIRE!

And He set me on fire, and I am burning alive.
With His breath in my lungs I am coming undone.
And He set me on fire, and I am burning alive.
With His breath in my lungs I am coming undone.
And I cannot hold it in and remain composed.
Love's taken over me and so I propose the letting myself go.
I am letting myself go.

You are my joy.
You are my joy.
You are my joy.
You are my joy.

I need to catch my breath, I need to.
I need to catch my breath, give me a moment now.

I'm laughing so hard
And I'm laughing so hard
And I'm laughing so hard
-You are my Joy, David Crowder-

1: Deuteronomy 5:15
2: Isaiah 42:6
3: Joshua 23:10
4: Song of Songs 2:4
5: Zechariah 2:5
6: Hebrews 12:29
7: Isaiah 43:2-3
8: James 3:5

As we walked hand in hand through the fire, my Deliverer smiled once more. Excitedly, He asked, “Shall we dance?”

Nothing can compare to this.