Katelyn held her N-95 mask tightly over her mouth. Tears fell, whether from the smoke burning her eyes or the fear searing her heart, she couldn’t say.
God, save us all!
She huddled in the campus library with hundreds of other students, professors, and community members. Each awaited, moment by moment, to see what God would do.
Surrounded by two fires approaching campus, and shark-mating season in full swing off the beach, this Malibu, California community was out of options. There was literally no where to go. The only solution was a divine intervention.
Katelyn stared straight out the large windows. It was black. Not only due to the predawn hour, but because the dark smoke billowed down the mountain before the flames.
“Everybody down!”
As bodies dropped to the floor, a loud roaring filled the library. Even with her face toward the carpet, her eyes detected a bright light filling the room. Raising her head, her eyes met the neon red flames racing down the mountain.
God, please! You can deliver us from this fire! She recalled the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Heart beating desperately, every moment stood still. She sniffed back tears, her nose detecting burnt vegetation producing a smell she’d never forget.
Over the roar of the fire there was another sound: a whirling that increased in volume as scared students met each others eyes.
At the last possible moment, helicopters took to the sky. Courageous firefighters dumped flame-retardant onto campus buildings. The flames licked the campus, dove into the ditches created in the landscaping to funnel wildfires, leaving charred lines in their wake.
Suddenly there was silence.
It was over.
No one dared to move. Just stared at one another in stunned silence. It was truly over. God had saved them.
Not one student, faculty member or Malibu community member died while sheltering in place on Pepperdine University’s campus that November day during the Woosley fire of 2018. And not one person easily forgot that the Lord they praised just hours earlier in chapel was indeed God of the flames.
Prayer: Dear Lord, Thank You that whatever flames I am facing, literal or figurative, You are there. You rescue. You are faithful. You can be trusted, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Bible reading: Daniel 3
Bible promise: You are the God who sees me. Genesis 16:13