The pilot light in our basement fireplace is probably the most important light in our house during the winter and spring. That light helps control the temperature for the rest of the house. If that light goes out, our basement becomes very cold and miserable. Because heat rises, the rest of the house struggles to keep warm.

At Pentecost, Christ’s followers’ experienced the Spirit’s arrival with little cloven tongues of fire on their heads (Acts 2:3). Just like a pilot light. But that flame didn’t last forever. It needed to be fanned.

We all experience burn out times in our spiritual life. We also know how to fake spiritual fire. Many of us are pros at using the right verses and the right Christian lingo. We quench the Spirit as we attempt to do life in the flesh. These times are dangerous as we become susceptible to Satan’s logical temptations. Meanwhile, we stray from the Spirit’s help in our moment-by-moment decisions and thoughts. For some, the straying leads to a momentous, life-altering consequence.

This doesn’t happen overnight. Except for the grace of God, each of us would be headed down the path of destruction. Most do not leap onto that path knowing that the end would be full of regret and misery. It’s usually a series of unwise choices ignorantly made without advice from our all-knowing and loving God Who is living within us.

The Spirit is often described as a flame—a flame that is not to be quenched, but a flame that is to be tended. In Leviticus 6:8-13, the Lord commands Aaron and his sons about the fire on the altar for burnt offerings. The fire was to be tended. It was to never go out. I’m sure that job was tedious as Aaron and his sons continually worked to keep the flame alive. But to me, it is a very important picture of the Holy Spirit’s continual, active work in the lives of believers like you and me.

Are you burned out? Have you quenched the Spirit? Are you living your life in your own power? Ask God to reignite the Holy Spirit’s flame in your life. Live in His power. Ask for His help. Quench not the Spirit (I Thessalonians 5:19). Fan the Flame.

To contact Kaye Dee, email kayedee@thebeautifulspirit.org or message us on Facebook.