The House That

Wouldn't Burn

by Thurman C. Petty, Jr.

Isa 43:2 (NIV)  When you pass through the . . . fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

I smelled a strange odor. It seemed to emanate from our sun room, but I found nothing there that would cause it. The odor had a familiar pungency to it, but I couldn't place it.

I dismissed it and went back to work at my computer. Several times I returned to the sun room, thinking I'd missed something. But I found nothing.

Later in the day my computer suddenly shut down. The power's out! I thought. But I heard music coming from my parent's apartment. Maybe a breaker. No, none of the breakers had tripped.

Then

I recalled the smell. Electrical fire! I turned off the breaker to my computer and examined the outlets in the sun room—adjacent to my work area. I felt the walls. They were cool. The odor seemed to lessen. Must be this circuit, I thought.

But on the next day the odor worsened again. What's happening here, I wondered, as I examined the sun room again.

Then I saw it. An electrical outlet under the window showed discoloration. I looked closer. The face plate had burned and melted in spots—and the varnish on the window molding above it had melted! I removed the plate. The outlet burned half away, the plastic electrical box had melted, and the wood frame next to the box had been charred--an inch deep.

The fire had smoldered for at least 16 hours and then went out. Why didn't the house burn? I wondered. But the answer came in a flash: "When you [are confronted with] fire, . . . the flames will not set you ablaze." (Isa. 43:2.) I praise God for protecting us from a terrible loss.