2 Timothy 1 - Fan the Flame

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​2 Timothy 1 

“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). As a girl who struggles with fear, this is one of my go-to verses. I preach it to myself at least once a week.

However, as I have been meditating on this chapter, I am struck by its context. It follows Paul saying, “I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God.” It is part of an encouragement to Timothy to pursue his calling boldly. David Guzik in his commentary says, “Going through 1 and 2 Timothy, you will find no less than 25 different places where Paul encourages Timothy to be bold, to not shy away from confrontation, to stand up where he needs to stand up and be strong. This was something that Timothy, being the kind of person he was, needed to hear!”

I don’t know about you, but like Timothy, I could use that kind of encouragement. To be bold and unafraid to do those things God is telling me to do. To fan the flame of the gift of God. The flame is there, but we need to tend to it, or will die out. Just because we have a gift or have heard a calling does not mean it will automatically come to pass. We have a part to play. God gives us the pilot light, but we have a role in fanning it; in keeping it going and growing.

Some of us just sit and stare at that little spark of a light. We wonder why God isn’t making something happen with it. Perhaps He is waiting for us to make something happen with it.

Fear is not of God. Fear is the work of Satan to keep us far away from that little light. Fear keeps us from fanning the flame. But we have something so much bigger than fear; something that can overcome fear. God has given us a spirit of POWER, LOVE, SELF CONTROL.  When we step into God’s will, we have God’s power on our side. We have the love of God, love that suffered and died for us. And we have self-control. We don’t have to be ruled by fear and emotions.

What flames have you been neglecting, either from fear or from waiting it out for God to make the next move? Decide today one thing you can do to fan the flame.

P.S. I’m so sorry I’ve gotten behind on the #NTin2018 posts. I’ve been working on fighting fears and fanning the flame of a project God has given me. Going scared is kind of fun.
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