Let’s begin with prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for the way Your Spirit turns even hard places into holy ground. Forgive me for the times I called punishment what You were using to form gratitude, endurance, and love in me. Show me what You have placed in my hands, what must be fanned into flame, and what must be extinguished by Your mercy. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
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What Needs to Be Fanned, and What Needs to Be Put Out
In 2 Timothy 1, Paul tells Timothy to fan into flame the gift of God that had been given to him. He reminds him that the Spirit of God does not leave us in fear, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.
Paul’s words to Timothy are so powerful because they remind us that the gift of God is not meant to lie buried under fear, shame, resentment, or weariness. It is to be fanned into flame. And the Spirit God gives does not leave us trapped in dread or bitterness. He gives power, love, and self-discipline.
For many years, when my children were growing up, I cleaned houses. I did not think of housecleaning as a gift. For a long time, I thought of it as punishment. And in that season, I felt the weight of my own ungratefulness. My body ached. My spirit felt heavy, as though I had weights hanging around my neck and ankles. In truth, spiritually, I did. Anger, resentment, and constant complaining grew heavier every day.
But then the Lord gave me something unexpected: the gift of gratitude.
As I began thanking Him for everything, something in me shifted. The work did not change overnight, but my heart did. The Spirit filled me with power to do the job He had given me. He gave me love for the people I worked for, so that I began praying for them while I cleaned. And He gave me self-control when I was wrongfully accused—not by the client, but by my ex-husband.
What I once thought was punishment became a place of refining.
And when I finally escaped the abuse, the very people I had served helped me in ways I could never repay. But God saw my suffering, and He made a way.
Some suffer for the sake of the gospel, and some suffer because of sin. How greatly we need the Lord to help us discern the difference. Not every hardship is holy, and not every fire should be kept alive. Some things in us must be fanned into flame by the Spirit—gratitude, endurance, love, obedience, prayer. And some things must be put out—resentment, bitterness, self-pity, unholy anger, and the complaining spirit that closes our eyes to the mercy of God.
So this is my prayer:
May the Lord reveal what needs to be fanned, and what needs to be put out.
Sacred Pause
Sit quietly with the Lord for a moment.
What in you has grown dim that needs to be fanned into flame again?
What in you has been burning in the wrong way and needs to be surrendered?
Where has gratitude begun to lighten what resentment once made heavy?
A prayer of repentance and renewal
Lord Jesus,
Forgive me for the ways I have resisted the work You were doing in hard places. Forgive my complaining, my bitterness, and every place where anger grew heavier than gratitude. Cleanse my heart of what does not belong to Your Spirit.
Fan into flame what You have placed within me—
power where I have grown weak,
love where I have grown cold,
and self-discipline, where I have been easily led by pain.
And where there are fires in me that do not come from You, put them out by Your mercy. Quench resentment. Quench self-pity. Quench every false flame that keeps me from walking in freedom. Thank You for seeing my suffering, for making a way, and for teaching me that even in ordinary work, Your Spirit can form something eternal.
In Jesus’ Name, amen.
The Spirit of God teaches us not only what to stir up, but also what must be surrendered to die.