This morning while going through my social media I saw a sign that read "When satan huffs and puffs and tries to blow out the flame of your joy, remember that you have an endless supply of kindling in the Word of God". This really hit me because I had been asking God to "rekindle" the flame in my heart lately. Not that the flame had gone out, but I was just chasing after Him and asking Him to make it bun hotter than it is right now. But it was when I saw this sign this morning that I really took a step back and asked myself what has changed that would make me feel like my flame isn't burning as hot as it was. And when I did, God was able to show me some things I am doing differently. Not even things that are bad, but definitely different. And I want to be very clear....I don't think our "works" can make God love us or be closer to us, but I do believe that our lack of attention to our relationship with Him can certainly cause some distance between us and Him. Just like any relationship, if you start to relax in the amount of attention you are giving the relationship, it will start to feel different.
So what was different for me? What did God reveal to me when I truly asked Him to? Attention to detail. That was what I heard Him say. When we are desperate for something we will give all of our attention to it. We will take notice in every detail and we will pump all we can into something to make it better. However, once it gets better, we can tend to put things on "cruise control" and let things ride. But that's not what is always best. I mean, even a pot of boiling water will not continue to boil if you don't keep the heat under it. It's not like you can get the water to boil and then just expect it to stay that way. If you built a fire under that water to get it that way, then you need to fan that fire and fuel that fire so the heat will stay constant and the water will stay boiling. Same thing goes with our relationship with God. When He sets us on fire for Him we must do out best to feed the fire. We need to stay connected to the source of the fire, Him! We need to be in the word, soaking it up and letting it penetrate our hearts. Letting each piece of scripture we read saturate us so when situations arise in our life we can pull those scriptures up in our hearts and use them. Fasting is another area that we can use to starve our flesh and ask God to be the only source of our desires. If you have never tried fasting as a way to really see what it is like to rely on God and God alone then I would highly suggest looking into it. And please do look into it or ask someone about it so you can do it wisely and safely. Fasting is an area that God pointed out that I was lacking in. Fasting was a big part of my relationship with Him and when I was doing it more often I felt more connected to Him. It was not something I just did without reason....it was something I did to allow Him to show me He was enough. He was enough to sustain me, He was enough to satisfy me and He was enough to strengthen me. And for me when I would fast (however long He would press on my heart), I would always feel closer to Him at the end.
Everything I am talking about today involves seeking Him. Not expecting Him to just show up in your busy life, but taking time out of that busy schedule to seek Him. And it's something I am going to be more intentional about. If I want my fire to burn hotter, then I need to put more kindling on it. Being in His Word, setting aside more time to speak to and hear from Him and doing things like fasting so I can keep my flesh in check and let Him be all I need. These are the sources of kindling that I know I need. Ask God to show you that sources of kindling for your fire too.
There are many scriptures I could reference about getting connected to God....or even reconnected. But the one that He has put on my heart today is this....Jeremiah 29:12-14 "Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive". I don't care if you are far from Him or just drifted away a little, this scripture says it all to well. Seek Him and you will find Him. And once you seek Him with all your heart He will gather you from whatever has you captive. It doesn't matter if that is sin, a busy life or messed up priorities...when we ask Him, He will help us...and realign our hearts with His.
God, Thank You that the Holy Spirit will show us when things just don't feel right. Open our eyes up so we know when something is fighting for the attention that belongs to You. Help us turn that attention back to You and rekindle the fire that burns for You. Help us to reach out to those who have let their flame die down and lift them up back to You. Let us never forget that it is in our weakness that YOU can be made strong! In Jesus name, Amen
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