When You’re Not “On Fire” for Jesus

The imagery is in our songs and catch phrases, this idea of being “on fire” for God. I don’t know when it first became popular in Christian circles—maybe during the Jesus Movement of the 1970s, maybe some other time.

Intertwining fire with faith not a new idea, of course. The disciples on the road to Emmaus said they felt their “hearts burning” as Jesus explained the scriptures to them (Luke 24:32). When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, tongues of fire rested on the disciples (Acts 2:2-4).

The Bible also speaks often of the “refiner’s fire”—the work of God that tests and shapes our faith and character. And God Himself is described as “a consuming fire” in Hebrews 12:29.

Even so, none of these have to do with that passionate, “on-fire” feeling frequently associated with youth camps and mountaintop experiences. I’m not denying such feelings exist—they’re real, valid and sometimes life-changing. But because they’re not necessarily sustainable, not having them can often be a source of guilt.

Don’t get me wrong: Heart-felt devotion to Jesus is important. Revelation 3:16 talks about the danger of letting our faith becoming lukewarm, rather than being hot or cold. And Romans 12:11-12 gives us some pretty detailed instructions about how to avoid this condition: “Never let the fire in your heart go out. Keep it alive. Serve the Lord. When you hope, be joyful. When you suffer, be patient. When you pray, be faithful.” (NIRV)

Unfortunately, what is sometimes overlooked in conversations about having fires in our hearts—or, as other translations put it, being “fervent in spirit”—is that there is no one-size-fits all approach to this. So many things factor into the equation of how we worship, how we speak and write about our faith, how we serve, how we read the Bible and how we relate to God individually.

Upbringing, personality and season of life all play a role, some larger than others.

For example, although I get pretty excited about certain topics, activities and people, I don’t know that I’ve ever used the words on fire to describe myself—about anything, really. It’s just not how I’m wired.

I’m usually OK with this, but sometimes my perspective needs a little tweaking. During one of those seasons in the wilderness when the best I could do was keep putting one foot in front of the other, I came to a simple realization: A lack of spiritual energy doesn’t mean you’re dead. It might just mean you’re tired.

Feelings come and feelings go, don’t they?  We may feel like we’re “on fire” for God today; we may not tomorrow.

What matters most—when we’re slogging through a long drought of the soul or enjoying an amazingly fruitful season—is that we’re working on our relationship with God just like we work on any other relationship that is important to us—with consistency, purpose and diligence.

As Eugene Peterson explains in A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, this process is what results in deeper intimacy with God:

“We think that if we don’t feel something there can be no authenticity in doing it,” he writes. “But the wisdom of God says something different: that we can act ourselves into a new way of feeling much quicker than we can feel ourselves into a new way of acting. Worship is an act that develops feelings for God, not a feeling for God that is expressed in an act of worship. When we obey the command to praise God in worship, our deep, essential need to be in relationship with God is nurtured.”

It’s counterintuitive, for sure. But it is worth the effort—especially over the long haul.

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with Let’s Have Coffee, Purposeful Faith, #TellHisStory, Faith on Fire, Faith ‘n Friends and Grace & Truth.