This weekend I set to the task of burning some trees that were downed a year ago by Hurricane Zeta. I am determined to get all the debris dealt with so that I can begin the coming Spring with cleared fields, free from unsightly stumps and gnarled branches that remind me of the destruction that came to town. And when you spend a Saturday stoking a bonfire consisting of several hundred-year-old oak trees, you emerge a little bit sooty and smelling like smoke. Just saying. At one point during dinner that evening, before I had showered off the ash from my day's work, my wife just looked at me... shook her head... and started to laugh. My response... "I know what you're thinking! You think I look HOT!!!" (wink, wink). This just made her laugh more... which only encouraged me to ask... "what... You don't think I look... SMOKIN?" Yes, you can pray for her. Living with me... she needs it. And now back to the topic of burning things...
As I hovered around the hot spot burning in the back of my field, my mind went to several places in scripture where fire is mentioned. I thought about how the Israelites were led through the wilderness by a pillar of fire at night... how it lit the way as they wandered. I felt the heat and wondered how much "seven times hotter" was... the temperature of the furnace awaiting Rack, Shack, and Bennie who were living in Mr. Nezzar's neighborhood and wouldn't eat any of his chocolate bunnies (a reference for my fellow Veggie Tales fans). I remembered the many references by Old Testament prophets like Isaiah, Zechariah, and Malachi who talked about the refining fire that would cleanse us from impurities... how it would test us and try us but would leave us emerging more valuable ... like the purest gold. And then I thought about Paul's words to Timothy in his second recorded letter... "I'm writing to encourage you to fan into a flame and rekindle the fire of the spiritual gift God imparted to you..." (2 Tim 1:6). Here's where my heart hung out for a while.
As I watched the fire burn, I would see the flames rise with every rush of wind. This reminded me how it feels like when the Holy Spirit breathes new life into your heart... fanning the flames of a work He has called you to do. When the wind subsided and the fire started to fizzle, I would poke the logs and stoke the embers and throw in some more wood to keep it burning. This reminded me of the work I sometimes have to do to rekindle the fire of the things within me that might have started to fade. And if Paul was writing to Timothy to encourage him to rekindle his fire, then I began to think... maybe Timothy was like me... in need of some stoking, at times. If his fire needed to be rekindled... maybe he had grown tired or had started to doubt... maybe his enthusiasm had faded or his countenance had fallen. Maybe he needed a fresh wind of the Spirit that came through a word of encouragement from his mentor. Maybe he needed to throw some logs on the fire that had begun in his heart. Maybe this is you today. I know with certainty this can be me... on any day.
Timothy didn't need new revelations or gifts; he needed the courage and self-discipline to hang on to the truth and to use the gifts he had already received. The same is true for each of us who have received a calling and been given work to do. Anytime we feel discouraged... disappointed... intimidated or overwhelmed by whatever the task may be... we must rely on the Holy Spirit for a fresh wind to fan the flames and we must resolve to rekindle the blaze that has begun within us. And if ever you are tempted to reconsider the work He has called you to do, I encourage you to remember Paul's words in the sentence that follows...
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind," - 2 Timothy 1:7
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