2 Timothy 1:6: Fueling Your Spiritual Fire

2 Timothy 1:6.. "For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God..."

Have you ever been "on fire for Jesus"? Have you ever been on a "spiritual high"? In other words, have you every been so pumped and excited about your Christianity that you thought nothing could stop you? I'm sure we have all been there at some point in our walk with Christ. However, oftentimes these instances don't last long. Our "on fireness for Jesus" often runs out, and our "spiritual high" quickly turns into another "spiritual low." Why does this happen? And how do we keep it from happening so that we might continually be strong in our faith?

In 2 Timothy 1:6, Paul encourages Timothy to "fan into flame the gift of God." The literal Greek here is saying to "keep the fire alive." It seems as if Timothy had lost his "spiritual fire" and Paul is encouraging him to work to pick it up again. Notice the tone here: Paul is encouraging Timothy to do something in order to regain his "spiritual fire." In other words, Paul is telling Timothy that in order to keep his "spiritual fire" alive, it takes hard work and perseverance. Surely the same principle applies to us today.

Do you know why your "spiritual fire" often runs out? Because fires quickly run out of fuel. Think of an actual fire. It may be flaming and roaring for one moment, but then five minutes from then it's dead because it ran out of fuel. Here's the question for you: are you fueling your spiritual fire? If you happen to be at a "spiritual low" or not "on fire for Jesus," I would love to suggest it's because you are not working hard and persevering to fuel your spiritual fire. Oftentimes, we go on youth retreats, attend amazing church services, or even read a new book that gives us a quick "spiritual flame" that quickly goes away--almost as if these things are adding lighter fluid to our fire, that flames up for a moment but is soon gone. Although these things are great, they must be continually fueled or they will put us right back to where we were before: a weak flame for our Christ. Surely we must work to fan into flame the gift of God.

So, how are you doing at fueling your spiritual fire? Are you regularly reading his word, praying, going to church, confessing your sins, and striving for good works in order to persevere to keep your spiritual fire aflame? Or have you been dumping lighter fluid on your spiritual fire ever now and then, ultimately just leaving your fire a smouldering flame that the devil is seeking to put out? I encourage you today: fuel your spiritual flame. It takes hard work and perseverance on your part, but God promises to help you (see Hebrews 4:16). Stop wallowing about in your spiritual lowness, and take ownership. Admit that you need to work harder at pursuing Christ, ask God for the strength to help you, and fan into flame the gift of God.