Friday Fight 246: Don’t Connect the Fires
Every Friday morning, during my quiet time with the Lord, He faithfully places something on my heart that speaks to the subtle, internal battles many of us face. This is Friday Fight 246.
A new year invites reflection, renewal, and the opportunity to step forward with a fresh perspective. God is still at work, faithful, and present in every season of our lives. As we move forward with hope, many of us carry lessons from our past —times when challenges seemed constant while peace felt fragile and fleeting. If we’re not careful, those moments can influence our outlook more than God’s promises. But a new year is not just about turning the page; it’s about learning to see clearly as we continue the story God is writing.
Don’t Connect the Fires:
While praying this week, I was reminded of a lesson I learned several years ago. At the time, I had endured weeks of unexplained chaos and inner turmoil and found myself crying out to God. One painful circumstance followed another: a hurtful encounter at work that made me doubt my worth, a strange interaction at church that left me feeling unsettled, a conversation with a close friend that ended in heartache, and finally, a major family issue. As if that weren’t enough, car repairs disrupted my budget and plans.
None of these moments were catastrophic on their own, but together they felt like being surrounded by small fires that crackled and smoldered. Each was smothering my peace as I anticipated its development. I was praying, yet my eyes were locked on the crackling flames instead of on the Father. As Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against unseen powers at work in this world.
Then the Holy Spirit spoke something simple yet freeing, into my heart: Don’t connect the fires. I had no idea the weight I felt was me connecting things, until the Holy Spirit revealed it. Sometimes we link difficult events or unsettling changes together, assuming a pattern or interpreting them as signs of inevitable defeat. Our minds begin to worry about what the future holds. When we do this, we allow frustration to take control, giving space for doubt, fear, and hopelessness to grow. What may be isolated challenges in a broken world can quickly become a single narrative of despair if we aren’t careful.
Here’s what God reminded me:
Association isn’t causation: Just because several hard things happen close together doesn’t mean they are spiritually connected or part of a downward spiral. Work struggles, strained friendships, family tension, and unexpected expenses may happen in the same season, but they do not define our whole story.
Keep your focus on God, not the flame: I began anticipating the next fire instead of trusting the One who extinguishes them. That shift in focus turned manageable challenges into a mental wildfire. Yet God was present in every moment, just as He promises never to leave or abandon us (Deuteronomy 31:6).
While we don’t want to connect the small fires that have nothing to do with each other, we do want to connect God’s presence in every part of our lives. As we step into 2026, we don’t want to be so quick to move forward that we miss what God is teaching us through each moment.
If you find yourself in a season where everything is going terribly wrong, remember this: don’t connect the fires. Fix your eyes on the Father. Every fire comes to an end, and God walks with you through each and every one of them.
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In His Grace,
Pastor Shannon
River Church