When the fire becomes a flame.
Why are there times when your walk with Christ ,that relationship is so on fire and other times its more like a flame just barely burning. Is it because life gets to full and too busy . Is it because your not truly happy ,in your marriage ,kids, family, job,friends,finances,maybe you feel your church is just skipping along and not doing Gods work or your growth has stagnated. Maybe your not in Gods Word daily or your prayer life is non-excitant,maybe you need a vacation . All these could be a possible reason for a flame instead of a fire.. But are they real reasons or just excuses?God desires for a strong relationship with him,he even provides the means for that too happen , through his son and his Word and he even dwells with us that is in us Rom 8:9. Christianity is the only religion were God comes to us for a relationship ,instead of us trying to earn his favor .
People are allot of times self reliant,self sufficient,self supporting, autonomous. They don't want to admit to needing help from God or anyone else. People look at needing help as a sign of weakness, or as a form of insufficiency, and incompetence, I think you get the point. The good news is GOD is there to help us .
I'm looking at this because my flame isn't very bright . As a Christian I know what Gods Word say's. I know what I need to do . Lets take a look at a few verses.
1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV
6 humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
So what does this verse say :"cast all your anxieties on him. " The word anxieties in the greek is merimna can also be translated care or cares. Its the things that distract you ,to draw you in different directions its the stuff that clouds your mind with so much clutter that you cant think straight.
When your mind is in that mode of operation that is cluttered with world events and life in general ,when your not sober minded or clear thought , congested in the head what happens verse 8
8 a Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour
SATAN or at least those that work for him commonly called demon's they are always on the prowl for those whom are fluttering in their walk ,their relationship with Christ in order to destroy them and devour them. May I also not leave out those whose relationship with Christ is strong. Satan is looking for a weak spot.
So how do we combat this feeling of a lacking flame . Lets start with this. What do you desire? What motivate you? Who do you want to please.? Where are your priorities.?
These are all questions that only you can answer.
If the answer to the above is God or Jesus, or your relationship with Christ ,that walk in him. Then lets see if I can help you and myself get back to a fire instead of a flame.
Back to scripture. 1 Peter 5 :6a6 xHumble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God
As we can see in this scripture it starts with HUMBLE YOURSELVES . What does that mean to humble yourselves.? You need to come to the realization that you can't do a relationship alone ,your relationship with God is not just a one way street were God reaches down to us ,but also us taking his hand and letting him lead us. God knew we would need help. He knew that at creation .Gen 2 when God made woman to be a helper to man ,to walk along side of him. And man was to cleave to the woman ,to hold fast to her this is the institution of marriage. Man and woman are one in life to support one another and consol one another .
Yet God in his eternity knew that this wouldn't be enough . Man kind falls from a relationship with Gods and sins while in the garden. So God had another plan in place cause he knew this would happen.
Christ death on the cross and his resurrection . 1 Peter 2 :24 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Christ the second person of the trinity God himself came to earth in the form of sinful flesh Rom 8:3 and BORE OUR PENALTY FOR SIN . That was a death on the cross.Why did he do this /1 John4:10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for our sins.
He Loves us this was an act of humility he came down to humanity instead of saying you come to me ,earn your right to have a relationship with me. He provided the way for our relation ship with him. It starts with HUMILITY, coming to the realization that we need GOD so if your in a current relationship and have excepted Christ as your personnel Savior and are floundering in that relationship ,then humble yourself and call upon the Lord to strengthen you and direct you. You cant do this alone. If you haven't excepted Christ then its time to do so. If your flame is low if its because of any of the things I mentioned earlier , well then its time to get back to the Word and pray on a regular basis. It can be a hard habit to make and a easier one to break.
2 Chor 7:14 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Seek his face ,humble yourselves and pray. Your land can be your life.
Back to 1Peter5:6a Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God
Under the mighty hand of GOD ?
Humbling yourself under God bing subject to his authority and his discipline ,his guidance, in his mighty power ,the hand of God is upholding and persevering God is present protecting and abiding.. When we come under the authority of God we can see things for what they are and be able to determine if what is happening is a growth thing or something that is destructive. Under Gods authority we can see what is useful and what is not. Under Gods authority we can see what has a here and now benefits and what has an eternal benefit.. Under Gods authority we can have the guidance needed to move forward in life and not get bogged down by life's everyday issues.
If your flame is low are you submitting to the authority of God and allowing his mighty power to work in and through you.. Are you trying to carry your burdens by yourself .
There is an aspect of Gods power that I haven't looked at yet. The church or body of Christ
Gal 6: 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
The church is suppose to be the body of Christ bearing each others burdens. For encouragement and strength. I think its unfortunate that I don't think the church as a whole practices the sharing of burdens with one another. Probably has to do with trust issues or maybe you see what someone is like outside of the body of Christ and it makes you wonder if they truly have a relationship with God
I my self don't really practice the sharing of my issues .Why ? Maybe I think I can handle this myself ,or I don't want to trouble them with this , or they have their own issues to deal with . How about this I don't want them to think I'm weak. One thing Christians may do ,I know I'm guilty of this is over annualizing the burden. The scripture doesn't say in Gal 6:2 "share only the burdens that don't make you look weak nor does it say annalize to see if its worth sharing . Its say's Bear one another's burdens. " kind of straight forward. If you have people praying for you during rough time sharing in your burden and encouraging you during this time of trouble then just maybe just may be your flame will burn bright during this time. On the reverse is having people praying during the not so troubled some times.
Christ said in Mat 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Do you want to have that rest,from any of the issues mentioned at the beginning of this paper ,give it over to Christ ,share with the body of believers. Ask God for someone in your life that you can share with . If you desire a flame that is bright and burning then ,you NEED to turn to God, You NEED to humble yourselves, you NEED to pray,you NEED to study, you NEED to share you burdens with other believers,you NEED to come to Jesus.
Let me finish with this I'm not trying to say you have to do all these things to have a viable flame but it sure doesn't hurt to follow the Word of God and share your life with other believers and instead of trying to be the pilot, step back and let God fly.
I pray that you will humble yourselves and pray seeking Gods mighty hand of protection and peace laying your burdens before Christ and receiving his rest , I pray God will show you someone in your life that you can share your burdens with , to help you have a Flame of fire and not one that's barley flickering.
May your flame burn bright as you seek out the God of the Bible.
