One would think it is easy to start a fire, right? How hard can it be….gather a few sticks, arrange them into a pile, and light the pile on fire. But to make fire, you have to have an igniter of some sort. If You don’t have a way to light a fire, it ain’t easy to get that thing going. Those survival shows make it look like the average Joe can start a fire. “Joe” rubs some sticks together for what seems like an eternity, switching angles occasionally until he reaches that perfect sweet spot and a smoke column begins to transcend up slowly and ever so small. But in just a few short minutes, a full orange flame is glowing, and in a couple more minutes a full out fire is blazing.
Oh for the love of all that is holy how I wish I could be an outdoorsmen type girl that could actually start fires, grow vegetables, run a ranch, and kill wild animals. But, I am not. I shoot guns and hurt myself. I trip and fall on a monthly basis over thin air. If you’ve been reading my blogs you already know that J. I kill house plants for crying out loud, even when I try really hard NOT to kill them. I just am no good at survival type task. So how do girls like me start fires??? And are you one of those girls too??
I’ve been feeling really in the dumps lately. Dead. Dry. Alone. Confused. And then the thought occurred to me. I need to start a fire, spiritually speaking. I know I’m no good at physically starting fires, but spiritually, I could do it. So here’s my proposal on how to start a fire, spiritually speaking:
Step 1: Gather sticks. Yep-we need some wood that will burn. No wet, warped junk, we need some good ol’ wood that lights easily and blazes. Nothing could be better suited for this than my dead, dry heart that is barely still beating. So I toss it into heap on top of some dirt. God can set my heart ablaze- He’s done it before, many times actually.
Step 2: Find an igniter. I need some heat here-an igniter to start the fire. I think the Holy Spirit is quite good at breathing on us and providing the heat required. We need him to breathe on those dead, brittle hearts. What’s great about a dry heart is it will ignite easily, right? Dry stuff can be set on fire in a quick New York minute. We only need to ask him. He does the hard part.
Step 3: Fan the flame. Once the spark is ignited, it’s part of our responsibility to keep it going. Nothing burns brighter in me than when I worship. I can be experiencing the absolute worst day of my life. You know the kind of day that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. Yeah I can be having one of THOSE days and I decide to pull out my guitar, or sit at my keyboard and just start singing. It’s rusty, a little off key and my voice breaks sometimes. But if I keep going, eventually I feel His presence pouring over me like a warm bucket of sunshine, oozing over my aches and the cavernous holes in my soul that life has left. The broken parts of devastation, shattered dreams and dashed hopes are swallowed up by his majestic presence. Oh what a beautiful fire that begins to consume me until there is very little thought of pain anymore, only bliss and joy in Him.
That’s how we are meant to live, every day of our lives. Broken but beautifully alive and full of worship. We might be walking through the worst season of our lives but we are on fire. It might be a slow- burning, consistent fire and not the roaring flame we once had. But isn’t that more powerful anyway?? A controlled fire that consistently provides light and warmth to those around us all the days of our lives?? A fire that never really goes out-no matter what happens around it??
We can’t always be a roaring bonfire, but we should always carry that flame within us no matter what happens. That’s the power of the resurrected Christ living within us. And if we do find ourselves dying out in our passion, we can gather some sticks again, ask the Holy Spirit to ignite us and continue to fan the flame that’s there. His fire is unquenchable and His presence is undeniable. He just wants a place to burn to show the world who He is.
We get to be that sacred place of holy fire. If you feel dead and dry, there is hope. You can have that flame again, and so can I. We can’t live without it.
Never let the fire in your heart go out. Keep it alive. Serve the Lord. Romans 12:11 NIRV
