A Way Out of the Fire! - February 25, 2006

"When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 13 (NLT)

Johnny and his wife had recently purchased the home of their dreams. It was a two-story house with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, and it also came with a pool. They were delighted when they were finally presented with the keys. Their new home represented a big shift from the small apartment they had rented for many years. They couldn't quite muster up enough words to express the overwhelming joy they shared regarding their recent purchase, so they simply mailed to their friends and family a card with a picture of them in front of their new home, leaping in the air with radiant smiles on their faces. Talk about excitement!

One day, Johnny's wife decided to go shopping for some items to add to their home. Johnny stayed behind to relax and take in a football game on the widescreen plasma television they had recently bought. While watching the game, he had a taste for some nachos. He quickly jumped from the sofa and sauntered into the kitchen to grab the ingredients. After cooking the meat, he mixed the ingredients together in one big pot and turned on the fire to let them cook. He figured he would give it some time to warm, so he returned to the living area to catch up on the game. He plopped down on the couch, and eventually laid back to recline. Before he could catch himself, he was sound asleep, having forgotten all about the nachos.

Suddenly, he awoke to the sound of a blaring alarm and a room full of smoke. He screamed in terror, "Oh my God, what have I done?" He quickly went down to his knees in a desperate attempt to see, and he noticed not too far from him, intense flames pouring from the kitchen. He then shouted frantically, "My house is on fire, somebody help, my house is on fire! Oh my God!" He rushed to the upstairs bathroom, fighting off thick clouds of smoke as he ran to grab a couple of towels to combat the flames. Halfway up the stairs, he collapsed to the floor, choking from inhaled smoke. He made an effort to crawl back downstairs to reach the front door to escape. The fire had spread into the living room, and Johnny began to panic. He found his way to the front door and reached for the door knob, but the knob had become hot from the flames, so it burned his hand. He didn't know where else to turn.

Minutes later, fire trucks, police cars and an ambulance raced up the street. The firemen rushed to put out the fire and to see if anyone was still inside. They knocked down the front door and found Johnny lying on the floor, unconscious. They quickly grabbed him and carried him to the ambulance. Johnny was sent to the hospital immediately. His wife found the remains of their house not too long after Johnny made it to the hospital. She hurried to the hospital to see Johnny, and fortunately, he managed to recover. Johnny's only regret was that he didn't learn the fire escape plan they were given in their new home packet along with their keys. They found themselves alive and grateful, but faced with the difficult task of starting over.

How often in life do we fail to study and get well acquainted with God's fire escape plan, so that in the event of a fire, God can guide us out?

Temptation is very much like fire. If you play with it, you will get burned. In the story above, Johnny and his wife had a fire escape plan for their new house, but they failed to study and learn it. So when a fire did occur, Johnny had no idea what to do or where to turn. He and their house suffered immense damage that could have been avoided. If Johnny had of learned their escape plan before a fire occurred, when the fire was raging, this plan within him would have caused him to respond the right way so that he could have escaped, and possibly saved their house.

GOD has given us an escape plan so that we are able to escape when the raging fires of temptation plague our souls. This plan is contained in HIS WORD, the bible. We must study this Word, and become very well acquainted with it, so that it becomes rooted deeply in our hearts. If this Word dwells deep within us, then in the event of a fiery temptation, God will bring it to our minds so that we know how to escape. During a fire, there is no time to study and learn the escape plan; there is only time to carry it out. So, it is a must to have foreknowledge of the plan

The same is true of the temptations we face. There is absolutely no time to study and learn the bible in the midst of temptation; there is only time to carry it out.

Don't be ignorant of God's escape plan for your life. With God's help, you can avoid serious damage in your life and avoid the difficult task of starting over if you know what GOD says. Remember, He desires to show you a way out!

Earl is currently a doctoral student at Southern Methodist University's Richard B. Johnson Center for Economics Studies in Dallas, Texas. His wife is currently in SMU's law school These devotions simply spring out of his daily walk with the Lord. Earl can be reached at: earlshaw@gmail.com

Good post Chad. How many times could we have stayed out of sticky situations if we had actually listened to what we had read in God's Word, and had the escape plan worked out.