“You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the LORD, have created it.

Living in coastal GA means my terrain is normally lush and green. Not so, right now. With only 11” of total rainfall since last September, what should be semi-tropical terrain is instead, a brown, dry tinderbox, just waiting for a match to ignite. 

And ignite it has. On April 21st, David shared a photo with me of dark smoke clouds hovering over the interstate in an a county just west of ours. The smoke was from one of thirty wildfires, burning up our state. As of Sunday, April 26th, the wildfire closest to us is only 25 miles from our home, having already consumed  20,933 acres and 90 homes. With no rain in the forecast for the next 5 days, the fire is only 7% contained. Scary stuff! 

Even though our church opened its doors to wildfire evacuees and collected snacks, bottled water, and Gatorade for the firefighters, the threat seemed a distant cause for alarm. That is until we awoke five days later to a heavy smoke cloud, blanketing our neighborhood. My travels to FL for a work flight the same day, evidenced the smoke’s thickness as it enveloped our area. From I-95, I normally can always see our area’s beautiful suspension bridge that sits above the Brunswick River. As I drove along the interstate, I was struck by the fact that the landmark had completely vanished in the smoke.

Earlier in the week, a man driving a golf cart through our community stopped David and I to explain that he was staying with family after evacuating from the fire with his grandchildren. When I asked him how his home was, he remarked that he kept his sprinklers running when he left, hoping the water would save his property. 

This coming Friday, David and I are planning to fly to CO to pack a 26-foot U-Haul truck with my mom’s and brother’s entire household to drive their belongings to GA, where they’re permanently relocating to live near us. I’m now concerned about leaving, knowing that this threat is looming, with no end and no rain in sight. 

The Weather Channel posted a video today, explaining that firefighters are battling the fire from above, dropping materials from planes to try to squelch and contain the devastation. 

I couldn’t help but see the irony in that statement. How often do we battle the fires that consume our lives with our own power. We try to beat back the flames, dig fire lines, and do what we can to contain our problems – attempting to battle the voracious demons at our doors by our own volition. Such a thing is impossible. We can’t be successful alone. 

We need help from on high. We have to stay plugged into God’s power to remain strong. We need our Heavenly Father’s celestial firefighters to combat the fiery forces of the evil one. Only God can protect, preserve, and empower us to control the flames that are stronger than anything we could ever extinguish on our own. 

We are nothing without Christ. Our greatest efforts are minuscule in comparison to the awesome power of our Creator. He created the sun, moon and all the celestial bodies in a single day. He fashioned our planet so that it could sustain the life. He then breathed that life into existence. While we call the elements the “forces of nature,” they are, in fact, the forces of our Creator, HE gives and He takes away. 

While David and I have helped in the aftermath of hurricanes and know, firsthand, how destructive they can be, they are nothing compared to the unforgiving ferocity of fire. I pray we never have to find out just how destructive this force of God can be. 

Now and every single day of my life, I give all I have to Him. May He have mercy on all those in the immediate path of this fire as we all pray together for our Creator to bring down the rain. 

Almighty Jehovah, please save us. Protect our home, and the homes, property, and animals of those who are in the path of your mighty fires. We don’t know why such destruction has to happen, but we give it all to You. All that we have, all that we think is ours is a gift from You. We know that we are only temporary stewards of all that You have blessed us with. Protect us, Lord. Show us, anew, how great and awesome You are. Bring down the rain, Lord. Our souls are thirsting for your grace and provision. Bring down the rain.