Fan The Flames

I know that same faith continues strong in you. This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.

She was fifteen when God called her to ministry. There was zero fanfare or public pronouncement; her calling came quietly one afternoon when she was alone, spending time with Jesus in her bedroom. And it was a secret she kept because women simply did not enter formal ministry positions, at least not in her corner of American church culture.

Instead, her ministry was lived out through an ordinary life as a wife and mother in a small community—fanning the flames of faith in neighborhood women and children who gathered in her home and church. And then, when her children were mostly grown, God opened the door to a formal leadership role in ministry where she fanned the flames of faith in thousands, encouraging them to follow God’s unique calling—big and small—in their lives.

Now, newly retired from her ministry position, she stands on the cusp of becoming a credentialed minister in her seventh decade. It’s a beautiful example of the fulfillment of God’s calling over the entire course of our lives, of humanity’s inability to thwart those plans—intentionally or not—and of God’s perfect timing that often looks nothing like our own. Just as she fanned all of our tiny flames of faith, encouraging our spiritual giftings, we have the privilege of standing alongside her, fanning the flames of her faith, and cheering her on as she takes the next steps in a lifetime of faithfully serving God, informally and formally.

Being a person who actively fans the flames of faith—in ourselves and others—is a blessing passed down from generation to generation, reaching back thousands of years to Paul’s encouragement of his young disciple in 2 Timothy 1:5-6. Encouraging another in their spiritual calling is among the greatest gifts we can give. Its ripple effects will extend far beyond anything we’ll see this side of heaven. I am forever grateful for how my friend has encouraged my faith over the years, and I show her my thanks by doing the same for others.

Julie

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Prayerfully ask God whose spiritual flames you can fan.