On Fire, or Smoldering?

May 31, 2023

Our campfire produced mostly smoke, and very little heat. The exposed unburned wood showed there was potential for a roaring fire. We knew the fire could be reignited.

No one would look at this situation and say, “Well, it doesn’t look like this fire will ever work. We may as well let it die and start all over with new wood tomorrow night.” We only had to get the fire going so it could reach its full potential.

That meant we needed a good solid flame below the larger pieces of wood so that they then could catch fire and produce the heat we needed for that cold fall evening.

Our spiritual lives are much the same.

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In Matthew 12, Jesus healed a man’s withered hand on the Sabbath. A Pharisee made a big deal out of Jesus healing on the Sabbath, but Jesus responded by comparing his healing on the Sabbath to a shepherd saving one of his sheep on the Sabbath. Because the sheep had fallen into a pit, it was not a lost cause. Of course, a shepherd would save it. The man’s withered hand was not a lost cause. Of course, Jesus would heal him.

Jesus left this scene and healed many others while the Pharisees conspired to kill Him.

The Bible tells us that Jesus did these things so that He might fulfill a prophecy of Isaiah. Isaiah prophesied that even though many Israelites would be Babylonian captives, a day would come when One would rescue them. The One he spoke of was Jesus.

“A bent reed He will not break off
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice.” (Isaiah 42:3, NASB)

Jesus would come to spiritually rescue the children of Israel. He would redeem them. The Jews would feel like “bent reeds and dimly burning wicks.” They would wonder if they could ever reach their full potential.

They could. They just needed Jesus and along with Jesus, the Holy Spirit.

You may feel like you are a bent reed, a dimly burning wick, or smoldering firewood. You may wonder if you can ever reach your full potential. Your decisions or decisions made by others may have put you in a place of discouragement. You may have plateaued in your spiritual journey. Could be you feel like you are going backward.

Like our campfire, you need a solid flame so that you can be a roaring fire for Jesus. That spiritual solid flame is not you. You need to put yourself aside and accept the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, Counselor, Advocate, Convicter of Sin, Guide, Intercessor, Revealer, Teacher, Healer, and Spirit of God, among other names. If we allow the Spirit to do those things for us, we’ll be well on our way to being on fire for Jesus.