Fanning The Flame
 

"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Tim. 1:6-7).

This is a simple little scripture with a lot of power. Timothy was a disciple of Paul who had gone on the missionary trail and traveled with him. Paul had ministered to Timothy, discipled him, raised him up, poured his life into him, laid his hands on him, and sent him off into ministry.

Paul had invested so much in Timothy and knew him so well, that when he began to see some problems he said, "Timothy, you've lost the edge. You had it! I know you did. I saw it in you. Now Timothy, you need to stir yourself up. You need to fan the flame!"

The King James Version says Paul told Timothy to stir up the gift of God. He wasn't telling him to ask God to stir it up or for God to fan the flame. God already put the gift and the fire in Timothy, but it was dying down and he just needed to get it going again. We've got to work at making sure our fire doesn't die down. We've got to make sure we don't get stale. We're not to pray, "Lord, give me more fire!" He's already given us the fire! He's already placed the gift within us.

I remember learning how to light the charcoal fire on the barbecue when I was a teenager. Now when my dad or mom did it, it looked real easy. I thought, "You just squirt the lighter fluid on the coals and light them." So I would squirt the stuff on, light it, and expect to go out there in about a half hour and find glowing coals. But when I'd go back out and check it, it was dead.

"Well, I better light it again." So I'd squirt the stuff on, light it again, come out in a half hour - still not lit. "Stupid thing, what's wrong with this stuff? I know it was raging when I left." So I'd keep squirting and lighting, squirting and lighting.

Are we like that? "Whoo, we've got the fire! Boy, did we have church!" for about ten seconds after service. Then we go home, turn on the TV, and by the next day we wonder what's happened. Paul said, "You gotta fan that flame."

After years of practice, I know I need to blow some air on that charcoal or fan it to keep it going and make it stronger and stronger and hotter and hotter. I used to think, You blow on fire and it'll put it out. After all, you blow on a match and it goes out, so why not the whole thing? But on the contrary, when you blow on it the oxygen feeds the fire.

You don't ever want to put your meat on the grill until those coals are glowing red hot. If you put the meat on there before it's glowing hot, the fire will probably go out. Then your food is halfway done and if you try to fan the flame, you just get ashes all over the place. It's pretty nasty!

I wonder if that's how we are sometimes. We go through the Christian life sort of half-lit. Then when we find ourselves in a desperate situation we say, "Oh God, please make up for all the times I didn't pray or read my Bible," and we blow and blow and ashes start going everywhere. Does that sound like you?

We need to be passionately fanning those coals until they're hot and glowing - till we have a raging fire - and then keep fanning them. Then we've got the edge. We don't have just a little bit of an experience, we've got a glowing, inner-fervor that will not die. And people will see it in our eyes, our countenance, and our lifestyle.

How do you do this? Pray without ceasing and listen to the Holy Spirit at all times, especially when it comes to developing the gifts and talents - spiritual and natural - God has given you. The Holy Spirit is that mighty rushing wind who keeps the fire burning. He's the One who shows you what to do and when with those gifts and talents. Sticking close to Him is a major key to keeping the edge

Go for the glow!

What gifts has God placed inside of you that you need to stir up?