Emptying The Ashes

    We heat our home with coal. In order to keep the heat going, one has to tend to the fire throughout the day by putting coal in and taking ashes out to regulate the heat. It’s an ongoing process but well worth the warmth and coziness heating with coal brings.
    I was never very good at keeping the fire going through out the day, so this winter I had a goal. I was determined to figure out what I was doing wrong and have a warm home when my husband got home. This didn’t start out too well. A few weeks into the cold weather and I was frustrated. The fire wouldn’t go out completely but it was always chilly until Randy got home. I told him that I did everything he told me to do, checked it, shook the ashes, added coal, and nothing was happening. It seemed impossible to me that although I had done everything right that it always turned out to be only a few burning embers.
    Finally, one day Randy realized I was missing an important step - taking out the ashes. The coal burns on top, you shake the ashes and they fall below, but if too many ashes build up then the fire doesn’t get any air and is unable to stay burning. The ashes were suffocating the fire. Although I was doing everything else right, there was no way the coal could keep burning fast enough to keep the house warm.
    Since then I have been doing just fine keeping our home warm. Emptying the ashes is my least favorite part of fixing the fire. If the wind is blowing a certain way, the ashes come right back in your face. You also have to wear gloves to protect yourself from getting burnt and dirty. The whole process led me to a thought…
    Are we emptying the ashes from our lives? Are you doing everything right and still feeling stuck? Still feeling like you aren’t moving forward? Although you are tending to your fire regularly (reading God’s Word) and adding the coal (God’s Truth), the most important thing to keep your fire blazing is air (God’s blessing upon you). We need to regularly empty the ashes out of our lives in order to maintain His blessings. Everyone’s ashes are different, your ashes may contain jealousy, bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, anxiety, lust, gossip, insecurity, idolatry, or something different. Emptying our personal ashes will not always be easy or likeable. The reason we usually miss this step is because it’s something we don’t desire to do. It’s easier to leave our ashes alone and hope for the best. Unfortunately the best doesn’t come without some hard work and much effort. Search yourself and ask God to open your eyes to any ashes you may be carrying that are holding you back from all the blessings He has for you.

Take time to read Joshua 7:1-13.

“You can not stand before your enemies until you take away from among you the things devoted to destruction.” Joshua 7:13