Burn Baby Burn, Re-Igniting Your Lost Passion for God

Burn Baby Burn

On Fire For God

Did You Know?

Our job as Christians is to burn. We should be on fire, zealous, and passionate for God and His kingdom. We should be allowing the gift of God within us to burn into a raging consuming inferno. 

Jeremiah 20 says, “But if I say, I will not mention His word or speak any more in His name. His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in. Indeed, I cannot.” The word of God should be like a fire shut up within you, ready to burst out. However, we tend to take the gift of God and bury it somewhere deep within, covering it up with everything else till it’s almost extinguished. “Oh yeah, I remember. I remember how I used to burn for God.“

In our lives, we’ve fanned so many other things, but we barely have a spark left for God. No wonder we feel far away, empty, full of junk. We have fanned everything else. We have fanned fear, anger, disappointment. We have fanned our lust. We have fanned hours and hours of TV, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and of course, we have certainly fanned our political opinions. We fan all these other things into a raging fire, but yet we give God just an hour a week and try to live off that spark.  

What are You Fanning?

“Oh God, why is life so difficult right now? Why isn’t this working out? Why do you seem far?” Well, what have you been fanning? Like farming, whatever you’re sowing will most likely be what you’re growing. It’s the same concept here. Whatever you’re fanning is what’s going to be ablaze. It’s easy to see what you’ve been fanning. Just look and see what’s raging out of control within you. All week long we are ablaze with everything but God. Then we go to church on Sunday, and things seem a little bit better, but why? Why is Sunday better? It’s better because we try to at least focus ourselves elsewhere, and for a brief moment concentrate and fan something else. 

When we go to church, focus on God, hear the word, sing and worship, pray, and the gift of God within us starts to come alive again. We actually feel better, more like ourselves. We start to remember who we are in God and who He is. We start to feel life again. We start to dream again. We think, “Oh, I’m going to do this and this, and I’m going to do that for God.” We go out to lunch and we have great hope. We feel like we are close to God, close to others, happier, more peaceful. Then by Sunday night, we have simmered down a bit. By Monday or Tuesday, we are barely smoldering. By Thursday, we are back in front of the TV like a zombie. And by the time Sunday rolls around, there is barely a spark left and we start all over again. We can’t survive on just a spark. 

YOU Must Fan

We quickly cool off again for God and go back to all the other fires in our lives that demand so much. We feel worn out and run down. Why? Because we are fanning the wrong things. It’s easier at church because someone else is fanning, but we can’t rely on the preacher to do all the fanning. Imagine that job. Take a bunch of barely smoldering wicks each week, try to put out all their other fires, and then try to get them burning again for God. How exhausting.

Paul didn’t say, Timothy, when you need it, come back to me and I’ll fan you again. No, he said “Fan into flame. You do this. You fan the gift of God within. You stir it up.” Imagine what church would be like if we all walked in already burning. The pastor would probably be beside himself. But instead of fanning the gift of God. We fan into flame our lust, our addictions, entertainment, pleasures, shopping, and so on until the gift of God is barely smoldering. We live off the spark of God, but what would life be like if we lived at a blaze with the gift of God? Who would we be? 

A Smoldering Life

The Bible says a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out, or a dimly burning wick He will not quench. Well, that’s good news, because let’s be honest, most of us are dimly burning and barely smoldering. But rejoice! God’s not going to snuff you out. He at least has something to work with. But you’re going to have to start fanning that into something greater. You can’t just live a smoldering life, week after week, with just barely a spark for God. You can’t get by on a spark. You have not been called to be a spark or a dimly lit wick. You’ve been called to burn, to be on fire, be a raging inferno for God.

Life is hard for a smoldering wick. God will seem far away. Things will seem to go wrong. Prayer will appear unanswered. You’ll be cranky, worn out, and drained. But when we fan the right things, everything gets better. If you feel frustrated, far from God, confused, angry, or hopeless, you’re probably a smoldering wick. Re-evaluate what you’re fanning. Stop fanning useless things that only drain you. The world isn’t impressed with barely smoldering wicks. They are impressed and take notice of people who burn. And let’s just be honest, most Christians are barely smoldering wicks, not much there to notice.

What Does Bob Ross Have To Do With This?

In the Bible, the Apostle Paul said to Timothy, “For this reason, I remind you to stir up the gift of God that is within you, and that you must bring it back into a blazing fire.” Some translations say to stir up or fan into flames. I like those. Others say rekindle. That sounds too cozy. I don’t want to rekindle the gift of God within. Sounds like the ‘Bob Ross’ of religion. We’re just going to paint a happy little tree, then a happy little cozy fire where we rekindle our happy little cozy relationship with God. No. I want to have industrial-strength fans that ignite this thing into a blazing inferno and burn up all the happy little trees. Figuratively speaking, of course. I don’t want to cozy up to God’s fire and just be comfortable. I want to burn! Burn until I am consumed with who God is within me. 

Be a Good Steward

Ever met people who need a word from God every week just to keep going? Oh Lord, give me a word. Help me get through. I can make it another day if you’ll just give me a word. Let me know that you’re still here helping me. No! Start to fan into flames the words God has already given you. Stop being a poor steward of the gift of God within. Stop fanning hopelessness and start to fan those things God has already said. Stir them up. We live paycheck to paycheck with God barely scraping by, barely smoldering, and we wonder why everything is so hard and so difficult.

Don’t just burn for a moment and say, well, that was a great word, and then move on and wait for the next great word. No, fan into flames what God has given, and keep fanning it until it’s ablaze. Fan until not only is it burning within, but it is consuming you, becoming a part of you, burning into your heart until the gift of God actually is like a fire shut up within your bones. And it just can’t be contained and starts to spread like wildfire to those around you. 

Stir Up the Gift of God

What would life be like if God’s word and nothing else were on fire within us and we just couldn’t contain it? Who could you be if the gift of God within was ablaze? Stop being barely lit and start to fan. Stir up the gift of God within you until it starts eating away at you, consuming you, and then keep fanning it continuously. Let it completely overtake all that you are and no longer be contained within. Remember, you haven’t been called to smolder. You have been called to burn. Burn so bright that the world would see how great God is. Stop burning for everything else and start burning for God. 

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