None of us sets out with the intention of letting the fire within us dwindle, but without the proper fuel, a fire will do just that. It seems simple, but we often forget to apply the same principle to our faith, leaving us with dwindling passion that cannot be sustained by the fuel we consume.

Whether we admit it or not, we often build our fires with fuel that will not burn. We attach ourselves to things, relationships, habits, and behaviors that offer comfort in the short term, but that cannot sustain the passion we seek. But through Jesus, we see another way.

In Matthew 4 Jesus comes must face that which cannot sustain. In telling this story we often focus on the temptation of Jesus, in the power to overcome temptation through Christ – an important aspect of the story to be sure – but what we miss is the importance of searching for the wilderness within ourselves, those bare spaces that need to be exposed and rejected, those things that we cling to that simply will not burn.

It’s no accident that this story is set in the wilderness. The external wilderness represented the internal state of the heart – a wild place that we often avoid for the sake of comfort and safety. In this account, we are not only promised freedom from temptation through Jesus, but we are also challenged to enter the wilderness of our own hearts and clear away that which will not burn. This is the invitation present in the words of Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

Our culture does not naturally lend itself to introspection. We are rarely invited into wilderness to examine our hearts and detach from anything that is not life-giving. Regularly practicing this type of self-examination, though, when guided by God, can help us to build a fire that will last.

Personal Practice: Use the following questions to lead you into the wilderness, asking God what things, relationships, habits, and behaviors we may need to detach from in order to build a fire that can be sustained. It’s important to note that not everything we find will be inherently “bad,” but that our relationship to what we find may be what needs to change.

• How do you normally respond to failure, loss, weakness, or suffering? What might this reveal to you about how you have attached to society’s view of success, power, and self-worth?

• What defense mechanisms might you be clinging to (sarcasm, temper tantrums, apathy, etc)? Can you begin to notice when you automatically use these behaviors to avoid or disengage with difficult things and begin to let go of the need to use them?

• Ask one or two people who are closest to you – what material possessions, relationships, habits, and behaviors might you be holding a little too tightly?

Questions for Reflection: Use these questions as a Group to reflect on your personal practice and the ways in which you can encourage one another to build a fire that will last.

• In what ways do you already practice introspection by searching your heart?

• Why do you think this is an important practice? How can it help us sustain the passion that God has given us?

• Why do we avoid entering the wilderness of our hearts?

• How do you plan to clear away the fuel that will not burn moving forward?