Sustaining the Fire

This week during our small group gathering, we decided to have a worship session around a camp fire. If you haven’t done this, you need to grab your nearest guitar player and do it because it was a blast! Not only do you get to worship Jesus with some of your favorite people, but ZERO BUGS.

We were actually worshiping so hard, we failed to realize that the fire almost went out. We tried to save it but it didn’t seem to help. Our life-group leader Ethan went and got his dad and some paper towels to try to get this thing burning again.

So after watching Ethan’s dad and doing my own research, apparently there are special ways that you can place the wood to make it burn a certain way. For instance, there is the Log Cabin which is low maintenance and the fire burning slowly. There are patterns for bad weather, reducing smoke, cooking, and a lot of others. I found that they all have one thing in common; if not tended to at some point or another, the fire dies.

This is a lot like our spiritual fire. Matthew 3:11 says, “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Jesus’s spark starts our fire. However, it is up to us to preserve it. If we we neglect it, the harder it is to get it back. If you do not make the effort to put Jesus first in your life, the spark will be short lived. I am not saying that it can’t be relit or a new fire can’t be built, but I am saying that if you do not take care of the fire it will not sustain.

So, that leads the question: what do we do to preserve and sustain the fire?

We build it with a plan in mind.

We start with the foundation- the big logs, the ones that will burn the longest. Our ‘big logs’ should be God and His word. There is nothing that will keep your fire burning more than building a strong relationship with God. Digging into His word, prayer throughout the day, and worship for everything He has done and will do through your life are just some of the ways you can build that strong foundation.

Then we move to the smaller logs. These are the people we choose to surround ourselves with and the things we choose to do with our lives. This includes pastors, mentors, friends, who/what you choose to watch online, what you do with your free time, and many others. A prime example of the best ‘small logs’ I know are the members of my life-group. We are in constant communication every day building each other up, praying for each other, and have amazing Jesus talks throughout the week. Activities like serving in your church and in your community or actively taking steps in the direction God has called you to go also helps keep the fire burning.

Finally, we have the shavings. This is the daily obedience to the Holy Spirit. These are the things that seem insignificant, but is equally as important in fueling the fire. You see, some of the biggest blessings come from the small directions of the Holy Spirit throughout the day. And let’s get real, it can be annoying at first and we don’t want to do it. For instance, paying for a struggling woman’s groceries even though you are a poor college student (yes that totally happened), extending grace to a coworker who is just down right mean, or NOT saying dirty words in the Walmart parking lot when you REALLY wanted to give that punk in a pickup truck that stole your parking space a piece of your mind. When we neglect those small and seemingly insignificant directions, it starts to spread to other areas of our lives.

After we have a well built fire, occasionally we have to take a pitch fork and shuffle some things around to keep the flame going or add new logs. Finding new authors, listening to a new preachers sermon, getting insight from someone outside of your normal circle or listening to new worship music are fantastic ways to keep your spiritual fire alive. But like everything else in the world, this has to be done in moderation. Too much movement at once can kill the flame. It is good to shake things up, but you have to have the foundation of Jesus and the word of God set in place.

Jesus is solid and sustaining, but we have to make a conscious effort to put Him first in our lives. We are the keeper of the flame. The longer you wait to take care of your fire, the longer it is to build it back up. When we take care of it, it will prosper and have the potential to help keep other’s flames burning. Protect your fire because you never know when God will need to use it.