Fanning the Flame
I believe God desire for each one of us is to go to a new level and depth in Him. As Christians God gives us gifts and abilities. It is a wonderful experience to get to know God and experience His presence. God wants to bless His children especially when they seek His face. He calls and anoints us to be used by Him for others and this increases as we seek to go deeper in our relationship with God. However getting to know God, receiving His blessing, learning to walk in His ways and growing our faith is only part of the story!
God’s blessing and anointing is given freely to us not only to make us feel good, but also with the purpose of giving it away to build his Kingdom. In the upper room the disciples experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit – this anointing empowered them to speak about Jesus resulting in the birth the early church
In 2 Tim 1 v 6 -7 God writes to Timothy and encourages him to use the anointing he received
“…I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God that 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”
It’s up to us to sow into what God has given us and seek God for opportunities to use the gifts He has given us. We need self discipline to continue to pray and seek God to deepen the anointing we have been given. It is when we take the courage to move out and use what God has given us, that others will see God’s power and love. When we bless others using the gifts and abilities God has given we demonstrate God’s love, God’s unconditional love.
Romans 5:8 tells us about God’s unconditional love – that when we were yet sinners God loved us and gave His only Son to die for us. God created us to be a channel of his love and we do that by being a channel that He can use to bless others.
God freely gives each of us gifts, talents and abilities. If we don’t take these and use them, hone them, and grow them, they will never be fully used to their potential and for his glory. We have a responsibility to use them and not allow fear and the lies of the enemy to sit on them and bless others with them. It is like a baby who is crawling, but has the ability with practice to stand, walk and even run. The baby will never have the freedom that walking and running brings, if it does stand and try to walk. Yes there may be falls as the baby learns to walk and run, but what freedom and expansion of life comes from going through that process !
In the process of growing in using our gifts and abilities, we should not fear failure, but keep our eyes on Jesus. We can trust the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us through those baby steps!
We are anointed for service, not for self-centredness. The enemy would keep us a child for years at the crawling stage, focused on self and our own needs and desires. Maturity comes as we learn to use develop those spiritual muscles by using the gifts He has given us and grow stronger in our faith as we step out to obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit despite our fears. Let us push forward and learn to walk, and then run the race God has set before us, knowing that He is cheering us on all the way.
