Got Fire?
2 Timothy 1:6-7
There was a young man in my Sunday School Class that kept me on my face before God. Mercy! In prayer, I would cry and beg God to take the fire OUT of this child!
Then, one day, God spoke to me. He told me He would NOT take the fire from this boy! He had been the one who gave him that fire and it had a purpose!
God showed me that, when put to proper use, fire can work for good. It can be used to burn hot against sin and to ignite the “ordinary” into flames of passion. Jeremiah 20:9 says the prophet was persecuted for speaking for God but he could not stop because it was a fire in his bones.
When used as God intended, this boy would have the guts to witness at the very gates of Hell and wrestle with the devil till victory was had. He had the strength and persistence to become a mighty man of God!
OR he could use that fire to rebel against authority, burn up everything good, and ruin his own life and the lives of those around him. If he chose wrongly, his fire would leave everything he touched a pile of ashes. He had the choice to do great things for God OR the devil–the choice would be his.
God told me to pray this boy would choose to serve God. I began to do so with great fervor and faithfulness. I told “Fred” what God had told me, about how he, Fred, had a choice to make and that I would be praying for him. Fred was 12 years old.
Fred’s family moved to another state about a year later; at that time, the battle was still raging. Then, one day, I knew in my heart that the time for prayer was over, the choice had been made. I still prayed for him now and then after that, but soon, the burden was gone entirely.
I have no idea if “Fred” chose Christ or not. My heart hopes that, someday, in heaven, a mighty man of God will walk up to me and say, “I chose God, Miss Annie, I CHOSE to burn hot for Jesus!”
When that “fire” is seen in proper perspective, through the eyes of the Spirit, there is an individual choice; to rebel against sin or rebel against God. As parents, grandparents, teachers and leaders, it is our responsibility to have discernment and pray that when the choice is made, that fire will burn hot for Jesus.
2 Timothy 1:6-7 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
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to be patient with hearts that are fighting a battle. Show me words to say and actions to take that will encourage a struggling heart to choose you instead of the world. Make me a source of direction, a strong hold in prayer and a revealer of truth through your Word and your Spirit. Thank you. Amen.
Scriptural References:
Jeremiah 20:9 But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.