A few months ago, we were at Walmart, and they had their charcoal grills on sale. I jumped on the opportunity and immediately put it to work when we got home. Salmon, burgers, more salmon and burgers – something about a charcoal grill just makes the meat taste so good. If you’ve ever used a charcoal grill, you’ll know that there’s a good bit of prep time involved. You pile up your charcoal, soak it in lighter fluid, light it, and wait a good 20 minutes. Once the flame is gone and the coals are gray, it’s time to cook.
One evening a few weeks ago, I decided to use the grill. It was pretty cold out, but when you get the craving, you don’t care how cold it is, you light up the grill. I did everything as I normally would and started cooking once the coals were gray. Except this time, they quit cooking after only a few minutes. Turns out, in cold weather, charcoal doesn’t last as long. So, what do you do? With half-cooked salmon, you don’t want to start the process all over and wait another 20 minutes. I, of course, did the wrong thing and just sprayed a bunch of lighter fluid and burned everything to a crisp.
Little did I know, that event is a perfect illustration for what Paul says in verse 6: “For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” Timothy’s charcoal was going out, and what happens when your faith grows cold? You lose the impact you have on others, you lose the joy of salvation. Paul says, “I want you to fan the flame.” True faith, like a roaring fire, can be felt and seen. The words used for “fan the flame” mean to rekindle, revive, to begin again.
To keep the flame alive, we need to:
1. Stay strong in our walk with God. When our time spent with God is pushed to the back burner, that is when our faith grows cold. Fellowship with God is our connection to the source of the fire.
2. Stay strong in our walk with the family of God. When time spent in fellowship is neglected, we fail to help fan each other’s flame.
3. Stay strong in worship. Worship should be intimate and personal, a reflection of our love for God.
4. Stay strong in study. It is impossible to stay on fire for God and not spend time in the word of God. Like Jeremiah, God’s word is the very fire in our bones, and if you want to keep that fire burning, study the word.
When fear threatens to ruin your faith, rekindle the flame.
The Preacher Pollard Blog 
Thank you very much for this post. I have recently begun a deep study in the book of Exodus and have started fanning the flames of learning in my own spiritual life. This is a great reminder to keep those fires burning hot and learn as much as possible. The more I learn the more I crave to learn. It is explosive in my soul as I continue every day. Thank you God for the wonderful word and for the opportunity to share it widely on the internet to encourage each other.