As believers, many of us can point to a specific time where we were on fire for Christ. If you’re a believer, I’m sure a picture popped into your head of a certain time in your life.
Let me paint a picture: Do you remember a time when you prayed and sought God, not just for things, but for Him alone? When waking up to pray was a reflex– and it didn’t feel like a chore? Where loving and appreciating God was a delight? A time when you treated reading the Bible as a privilege, and not just something to do once in a while? Or a season where sharing the gospel was as easy as breathing?
However, as you went through the highs and lows of life, something distracted, shifted, and moved your focus. Your desire for the things of God grew less and less. The fire dimmed until all that was left was smoke.
Your daily faith habits turned into weekly check-ins, then into “when I have time” activities. The shift wasn’t obvious at first, until in a moment of reflection, you look back and see how far you’ve gone.
“But I have this [charge] against you, that you have left your first love [you have lost the depth of love that you first had for Me].”
Rev. 2:4 AMP
“Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first.”
Rev. 2:5 NKJV
God’s design for our relationship with Him was never meant to be seasonal, because He is not a seasonal God, He is a faithful Father. He never intended for us to be on fire for only a few moments, because He is the all consuming fire. Do you get the point here? Our relationship with God is not fueled by how we feel, or even by what we can do, but by how much we surrender, and let Him work.
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Philippians 2:13 NLT
Maybe you have the desire. Yes, you desire to seek God as you did at first, or maybe for the first time ever, yet your actions keep proving otherwise. It’s at these crucial moments where we feel the fire dying, that we must not rely on ourselves, but place our hope in Him (Isaiah 40:30-31)
Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
To keep the fire, make time to pray and study God’s Word. It is the fuel that keeps a robust spiritual life, and all the while, remember that it is God’s power that enables you. From the overflow of God’s presence and strength, make yourself available when called upon to serve. A fire is quenched when there’s nothing fueling it, keep leaning on and partnering with God’s Spirit to seek Him wholeheartedly.
joy-full 