"But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour." Isaiah 43: 1-3a
An impressionable mind is fertile ground for misinformation. Especially when it is prone to flights of fancy.
And so, when I heard a guest speaker talking about The Satanic Bible (upon retrospect, the only good thing out of the lecture was "Don't read it"), and how "spontaneous human combustion" was actually a spell contained in it, my mind ran amok.
But let me back up a bit.
My fear of fire comes honestly. When I was about 2, and my father was lighting our old gas stove in the days before pilot lights, he was called away right after priming the stove. When he came back and lit the match -- whoosh! -- his arm was enveloped in flame because of the gas buildup.
I watched in horror.
Years later, Dad recounted the incident, saying he saw the flames, and me through them, and he wanted desperately to run to me to comfort me, but he knew he had to first take care of the fire before it did any damage. Dad turned to the sink in our small kitchen, brushed the flames off his left arm with his right hand, turned on the tap, and put out the fire before much damage was done. He lost the hair on his left arm and his left eyebrow was singed off but emerged otherwise unscathed.
But I was traumatized.
And it manifested inside my brain when, years later, I heard a speaker talk about spontaneous human combustion and how it was a spell in The Satanic Bible. My mind ran wild, even though the speaker told his rapt audience, "It says right there not to try any of these spells on Christians, because they don't work." I knew that it couldn't REALLY happen. I would not be consumed in flame. But I believed I might SEE it in my mind.
That very thought terrified me. For days, I would not look at my reflection, lest the evil one cause me to see flames upon myself.
I happened to be reading through the book of Isaiah at the time. And, after a few days of self-inflicted torture, I came upon Chapter 43, and stopped at this passage: "Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee".
Oh, what comfort. There it was, from the mouth of God. I didn't have to rely on a suspect book or someone whose livelihood included telling tales to impressionable youth. God had spoken directly to me.
That promise to me had been planted in those verses some 2,700 years before I so desperately needed it. It was waiting for me to joyfully discover it and be free from that particular fear.
I am so grateful to our loving God who provided this promise and who still opens my stubborn eyes and recalcitrant heart to receive the truth of the wonderful promises He has stored in His living Word.