About 13 years ago, I was a very young and new college student. I was curious about what God had in mind for my life, but I had NO idea what that might be. Sometime in the midst of this, I went on a camping trip one weekend with some old high school friends. The parents of one of these friends was kind of hosting and coordinating the weekend, and one night, they had a little mini-lesson they shared with us. They talked about how they had just finished a Bible study on the Temple of God. They learned all sorts of applicable symbolism that was interesting, but they had one illustration in particular that they wanted to share with us. The wicks in the Temple.
Inside the Temple, stood a golden lampstand that gave light in the inner Holy Place. It was an oil lampstand that used wicks. The Bible is replete with references to light. I'd even grown up singing "This little light of mine." I was familiar with possible symbolic meanings for light. I was even familiar with oil representing the Holy Spirit. However, I had never considered the wicks before.
These adults went on to explain that because it was an oil lamp, the wicks did not get destroyed in the process of giving light and that the priests at that time had a special place they took the used wicks in the Temple. They didn't just throw them away once they had been trimmed too small to use anymore. We, as Christians, are the wicks. At that time in my life, I was struck by the assurance that God could use me completely and thoroughly and that amazingly I would not be destroyed in the process. Not only that, but He would take me away safely and lovingly when my task for Him was complete. I never wanted to forget this lesson, so I started using it as my online screenname for everything. "Spiritwick"
Flash forward 13 years, and God is still using this metaphor to teach me. I have recently been reminded how desperately I need quiet time with my Lord each day. It is stunning to me how obvious and palpable the difference is for me when I've been spending quality One-on-one time with Him each day and when I haven't been.
As I was continuing work on my Uganda lesson about living out God-given passions, I really wanted to impress the vital importance of remembering the Source of these passions. It was already clear in my lesson that non-believers need to come to Christ in order to have their passions coming from God, but I needed to explain the importance of believers staying in tune with this Source too.
Here's how I ended up writing this out for myself to help me work through how I would explain it then:
"The first step in living out your heart's desire needs to be inviting the Spirit to saturate your heart. For those who have not yet accepted Christ and received His Spirit, that must obviously be the 1st step. However, it is the continual foundation and starting point each day for us as believers too.
"Consider this wick. It's purpose is to be set on fire. If it were capable of having a passion, it would probably be to give light. If I set this on fire, would it burn? Yes. Would it give light? Yes, but only briefly. Now, consider if I placed this wick in an oil lamp where it belonged and if I allowed the oil to completely saturate the wick first. When I lit the wick, it would be able to give light without being burned up because the oil would be the fuel for the fire rather than the wick itself. The wick would provide light much longer this way. What would happen though if the lamp ran out of oil? The wick would become the fuel again and get burned up quickly. The oil has to be replenished regularly.
"You are the wick, and the Holy Spirit is the oil. Without the Holy Spirit in your life, you get burned up. You burn out. You need to not only let the Holy Spirit saturate you completely -- give your whole heart, your whole life over to Him-- but you also need to allow the Spirit to saturate you anew each day."
I continue on with Scriptures, reflection questions, a personal example, etc., but it strikes me that I have encountered this metaphor nearly every day for 13 years in my own email addresses, blog names, screennames, etc., but God can STILL use it in my life in new ways. Now, I think of my morning One-on-one times with Him as time to invite the Spirit to saturate me anew. I start feeling thirsty for it when I don't squeeze it in in the morning. I understand this need now better thanks to this illustration. Without Him, I grow weary, I lose heart, my light flickers, I burn out. No wonder I thirst for Him!
When I took the online name of "Spiritwick" those many years ago, I hoped and prayed that people would ask me about it, so that I could share with others what it meant. I wanted to share the loving nature of God with them. It amazes me that 13 years later, He can use me to share this lesson in a new way with people I've never met in a continent that seems so distant from my own.
"I know that the experiences of my life, when I let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give me to do." God is faithful. Hallelujah and Amen!
Inside the Temple, stood a golden lampstand that gave light in the inner Holy Place. It was an oil lampstand that used wicks. The Bible is replete with references to light. I'd even grown up singing "This little light of mine." I was familiar with possible symbolic meanings for light. I was even familiar with oil representing the Holy Spirit. However, I had never considered the wicks before.
These adults went on to explain that because it was an oil lamp, the wicks did not get destroyed in the process of giving light and that the priests at that time had a special place they took the used wicks in the Temple. They didn't just throw them away once they had been trimmed too small to use anymore. We, as Christians, are the wicks. At that time in my life, I was struck by the assurance that God could use me completely and thoroughly and that amazingly I would not be destroyed in the process. Not only that, but He would take me away safely and lovingly when my task for Him was complete. I never wanted to forget this lesson, so I started using it as my online screenname for everything. "Spiritwick"
Flash forward 13 years, and God is still using this metaphor to teach me. I have recently been reminded how desperately I need quiet time with my Lord each day. It is stunning to me how obvious and palpable the difference is for me when I've been spending quality One-on-one time with Him each day and when I haven't been.
As I was continuing work on my Uganda lesson about living out God-given passions, I really wanted to impress the vital importance of remembering the Source of these passions. It was already clear in my lesson that non-believers need to come to Christ in order to have their passions coming from God, but I needed to explain the importance of believers staying in tune with this Source too.
Here's how I ended up writing this out for myself to help me work through how I would explain it then:
"The first step in living out your heart's desire needs to be inviting the Spirit to saturate your heart. For those who have not yet accepted Christ and received His Spirit, that must obviously be the 1st step. However, it is the continual foundation and starting point each day for us as believers too.
"Consider this wick. It's purpose is to be set on fire. If it were capable of having a passion, it would probably be to give light. If I set this on fire, would it burn? Yes. Would it give light? Yes, but only briefly. Now, consider if I placed this wick in an oil lamp where it belonged and if I allowed the oil to completely saturate the wick first. When I lit the wick, it would be able to give light without being burned up because the oil would be the fuel for the fire rather than the wick itself. The wick would provide light much longer this way. What would happen though if the lamp ran out of oil? The wick would become the fuel again and get burned up quickly. The oil has to be replenished regularly.
"You are the wick, and the Holy Spirit is the oil. Without the Holy Spirit in your life, you get burned up. You burn out. You need to not only let the Holy Spirit saturate you completely -- give your whole heart, your whole life over to Him-- but you also need to allow the Spirit to saturate you anew each day."
I continue on with Scriptures, reflection questions, a personal example, etc., but it strikes me that I have encountered this metaphor nearly every day for 13 years in my own email addresses, blog names, screennames, etc., but God can STILL use it in my life in new ways. Now, I think of my morning One-on-one times with Him as time to invite the Spirit to saturate me anew. I start feeling thirsty for it when I don't squeeze it in in the morning. I understand this need now better thanks to this illustration. Without Him, I grow weary, I lose heart, my light flickers, I burn out. No wonder I thirst for Him!
When I took the online name of "Spiritwick" those many years ago, I hoped and prayed that people would ask me about it, so that I could share with others what it meant. I wanted to share the loving nature of God with them. It amazes me that 13 years later, He can use me to share this lesson in a new way with people I've never met in a continent that seems so distant from my own.
"I know that the experiences of my life, when I let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give me to do." God is faithful. Hallelujah and Amen!
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