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Essential Practicals:
Keep Your Spiritual Fervor
Romans 12:11 (NIV), Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
All Christians know what zeal is because we have experienced the fires of passion for Jesus. Those times of intense love, and great eagerness in serving God. Those have been the greatest times in our lives. Somehow, along the way, those fires of zeal die down.
Every leader will have to face burnout sometime. It is inevitable. Your walk becomes dry, the work becomes a drudgery, and your attitude begins to stink. There is much left to do, but nothing left to give. How do you keep from getting burned out? You love the Lord, but where is the zeal and how do you get it back?
The recipe for unending zeal is found by examining the word “fervor.” It means to boil with heat, as in boiling water. I cannot do much in the kitchen, but boiling water is one of my specialties! Here is the recipe that I use: First, I get a pot. Second, I fill it with water. Third, I place it on the burner. Fourth, I wait for it to boil.
Keeping your zeal for the Lord is just as simple. You are a vessel that needs to be filled. Not to be filled with the junk and gunk of this world, but to be filled with the refreshing clear water which is the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. Having been filled with the Spirit and the Word, you now just need to stay in contact with the fire.
The fire is our Heavenly Father. The author of Hebrews describes God as a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). The vessel that approaches God without the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit is consumed in judgment. After the Spirit transforms and fills a vessel, the presence of God brings to boil a great passion and zeal.
As you boil water, it evaporates. And as you give of yourself and serve the Lord, you become empty and you need to be refilled. The key is to be regularly allowing the Spirit to work in you through the Word of God. Daily Bible reading is a must for Christian leaders.
Fill yourself completely with the Word and the Holy Spirit. Enter into the presence of God and wait, stay close to God and He will do the rest. Serving the Lord will be the result, the boiling bubbling overflow of a passionate relationship with Him.