Standing in a Firestorm

Isaiah 33: 13-14 

"If you’re far away,

    get the reports on what I’ve done,

And if you’re in the neighborhood,

    pay attention to my record.

The sinners in Zion are rightly terrified;

    the godless are at their wit’s end:

‘Who among us can survive this firestorm?

    Who of us can get out of this purge with our lives?’”

15-16 The answer’s simple:

    Live right,

    speak the truth,

    despise exploitation,

    refuse bribes,

    reject violence,

    avoid evil amusements.

This is how you raise your standard of living!

    A safe and stable way to live.

    A nourishing, satisfying way to live......

God is telling us that if we want to be able to stand when the firestorms come (trials and tribulations and the purging of sin from our lives) we have to live right. 

When I say and write the words live right, it's pretty simple. Obey the things God has told me to do. Continue to consecrate and separate from the things God has asked me to stay away from. Yield to the Holy Spirit. Surrender my life daily to Him. It's sounds easy, but in actuality it's not that easy for me.

I pursue God and His prescence because that is the only way I can stand and come out of firestorms. I have to pursue God because I have learned it's the only thing that will satisfy my soul. I want to be in God's neighborhood (v13). If I find myself lost (not living right), I know they way back to His neighborhood. 

What about you? Where do you find yourself today?