I’ve struggled to feel the blazing flame of Christ lately. Sure, I still attend church – and my faith in Him hasn’t faltered – but I haven’t felt the fire quite like I have in the past.
I think routine has become the killer. Whether that routine includes regular worship or not – it’s as though I’m going through the motions without getting in the fight. Each relationship I build – or each relationship I lose – acts as kindling for my fire. Every piece of scripture I read and every worship song I sing adds some wood to the pile. And at the end of the day, I, at times, feel like a big pile…
The only one to blame is myself. My faith has become comfortable. And to be honest, I don’t like it.
If I have passion spewing from my lips but not from my hands and feet – then it’s not quite right. If I have routines that numb the excitement of what He did for me – then I’m missing something. If I have all the kindling and wood in a pile but I have no spark – then there’s no real warmth.
Last week I was with a few of my dearest friends at a Casting Crowns concert – and we talked off and on throughout the concert. We cracked jokes. We marveled at the impressive performances. But my friend Erik and I ended up having one of those ‘monumental’ conversations that got me so excited. I think there was a switch in us during that concert – because, at some point, it switched from being a concert to being worship. It triggered something inside of me that I hadn’t felt in quite some time – unadulterated praise!
As we praised God through song, we challenged one another to do something big for the kingdom. Both he and I have fallen victim to the sin of routine without fire, and even the conversation of building something for Him got both our motors turning. I’m not sure about many of you – but for me, my faith makes the most sense when I’m bearing fruit. I’ve been consuming for a long while – and there comes a time in which I need to bear fruit for things to click.
There comes a time when I’ve gathered enough kindling. There comes a time when the pile has enough wood. There comes a time to have a simple spark start a giant blaze. It only takes a spark to get a fire going. And if you’ve been piling up things for years and years, then the blaze can be all the more powerful.
I want to be on fire again. Luke 24:32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
I pray that you find the spark to ignite your flame. I pray that our hearts burn within us and that is transformed into an outward engulfment of love. I pray that our fire warms others that so desperately need it. And I pray that God gives us the strength to help be a spark to someone else today.
Erik Hatch