Time to Get Fired Up

“Fire it up!”

The expression could mean a lot of things. Perhaps your mechanic is telling you to fire up the engine on your car. Perhaps the sports announcer is telling the crowd to show some enthusiasm for their team. Perhaps your friend is telling you to prep the grill for cooking: “Fire it up!”

In our walk with Christ, we also need to “Fire it up!”

Like the mechanic’s assessment, we need to “fire it up” to see how well our spiritual engine is running. Are we getting a little sluggish? Is there an odd ticking noise each time we go to pray? Maybe we need to tighten that belt of truth and make sure we aren’t leaking that oil of anointing. Make an appointment today to spend a little time with our Great Mechanic and see what kind of tune-up may be needed.

And how about that announcer giving a rallying cry? How much fiery enthusiasm have you felt lately toward the life that God has given you, toward your friendship with Christ, and toward your relationships with others? If you aren’t feeling as energized as you used to, maybe it’s time to shake things up a bit. Try a different style of worship, attend a Christian conference, or volunteer in a new way. Create some mental “instant replays” of the amazing ways God has acted in your life in the past, and cheer your spirit on. No matter the current score, God can make that last second shot. He can break through the defensive line. He can stick the landing. You don’t need to wait for the rest of the crowd to go wild. You know the moment is coming. Fire up your spirit now.

Neither of these things – the spiritual tune-up nor the spiritual pep rally – can happen apart from spiritual nourishment. Let’s call that firing up the spiritual grill. There are two important things Jesus said about this.  He said that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). He also said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). In other words, our strength comes from studying God’s Word and putting it into practice in our lives. Each time we obey, we grow stronger. Each time we listen to a nudging by the Holy Spirit and see a task through to completion, we grow stronger. We can feel it in our spirit, but we can also feel it physically. Living in God’s will is a continuous progression of listening, studying, and acting that provides us with a steady diet that only He can provide.

When the weather outside gets chilly, it’s a great time to think about a toasty fire. But no matter what the temperature is outside, there is a warmth we can carry with us no matter where we go. The start of a new year seems like a great time to “fire it up.”

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Janet Beagle, Ph.D. serves as director of graduate programs for Purdue University’s College of Engineering and is a writer, a Bible study teacher, and a student of God’s word. In her spare time, she likes to eat other people’s cooking and hike with her dog, Marly. Read more of Janet’s Christian reflections at www.mustardpatch.org.