When the Fire Fades

“Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.” — 1 Peter 1:5 (KJV)

Have you ever come home from a camp, a retreat or a big Christian event completely fired up? You told God you would follow him with everything. You were going to read your Bible every day and change everything. And then, a week or a month later, it had faded.

Murray had heard this so many times that he quotes people saying it: “I have often been stirred at a meeting, or at a convention, and I have consecrated myself to God, but it has passed away. I know it may last for a week or for a month, but away it fades, and after a time it is all gone.”

Sound familiar? Murray’s diagnosis is surprising. He says the problem is that we think keeping going depends on us. But God doesn’t only ask for our surrender and accept it. He keeps us in it. “God maintains it.”

He uses a verse from 1 Peter: we are “kept by the power of God through faith.” He explains it with a picture. Imagine a father who works his whole life to save an inheritance for his children, but does nothing to raise them or prepare them for it. Foolish. God isn’t like that. He keeps the inheritance safe in heaven, and he keeps us, here, for it. Many Christians, Murray says, believe God is keeping heaven for them, “but they cannot believe: ‘My God is keeping me for that inheritance.’”

And God’s keeping is not vague. Murray borrows a line from an old hymn: “Moment by moment I’m kept in His love.” Just as the sun shines on you without stopping, God’s life can reach you every moment.

So what is your part? Murray points to a famous example: George Müller, who on his ninetieth birthday was asked the secret of his happy life. Müller gave two reasons. First, he had been enabled by grace “to maintain a good conscience before God day by day.” Second, “he was a lover of God’s Word.”

That is simple enough for anyone. Keep short accounts with God: when something is wrong, deal with it quickly. And keep reading the Bible, not as a box to tick but as food. Then trust God to do the keeping. The fire may flicker, but the God who lit it hasn’t gone anywhere.

One thing to do this week: pick a simple daily habit for this week: one short Bible passage each morning, and each evening a quick, honest check with God. Was there anything today to say sorry for? Then thank him for keeping you, whatever you feel.