Up, in a puff of smoke! It alludes to rapid ruin for a structure. Yet, scripturally, smoke is symbolic of God’s glory, presence and power. His glory filled the Jerusalem temple. “And one cried to another and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory! And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who cried, and the house was filled with smoke (Isaiah 6:3-4 Amplified Bible).”

Smoke wafted through the screen door of the camper and ascended through the opened vent in the ceiling. Watching, I pondered on the idiom-where there’s smoke, there’s fire. In this case, I knew my husband was burning leaves. There is validity in the statement. Sometimes we can only see smoke; the fire, though not dominant, is there. Where there is smoke, there is sacrificial fire. Elijah made an offering unto holy God.

“Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You, the Lord, are God, and have turned their hearts back [to You]. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust, and also licked up the water that was in the trench (1 Kings 18:37-38 Amplified Bible).” The Lord can still today turn our hearts back to Him. We need only to repent and return.