GOD’S WORD IS LIKE A BURNING FIRE

“But HIS WORD was in my heart like a BURNING FIRE shut up in my bones...” – Jeremiah 20:9a

GOD’S WORD IS LIKE A BURNING FIRE: “For when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, ‘Violence and plunder!’ Because the word of the LORD was made to me a reproach and a derision daily. Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.’ But HIS WORD was in my heart like a BURNING FIRE shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not” (Jer.20: 8-9). Jeremiah compared the effect of the Word of God, in his heart and bones, to the burning heat of physical fire and how he couldn’t contain or hold it inside him. God’s Word in His servant is like a fire he cannot keep to his bosom; it must be released. He feels fulfilled after delivering the Word God has given him.

God’s Word was like a fire in his heart and his bones that must be spoken in accordance with the mission God gave him. God’s Word is a powerful, refining agent and a burden in the heart of His servant that must be discharged. But it can also be a destructive fire against the enemy. God said He would make His words in Jeremiah’s mouth become fire and the house of Israel and Judah would be devoured like wood for lying about the LORD: “Wherefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, because you speak this word, behold, I will make My words in Your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them” (Jer.5:14). If God could treat His rebellious children this way, what might happen to those He has no covenant with?

Fire can be a blessing or a curse; a refiner or a destroyer. A fire that is uncontrolled is dangerous; it burns and destroys. God’s Word in the mouth of His children is fire to the enemy. However, we must walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh. If we walk in the flesh, His Word may never have any tangible effect. This is reason some people complain that the Word of God is not working. The children of God cannot be disobeying His Word and expect His Word to work for them, except by His Mercy. Jesus said His disciples must abide in Him and let His words abide in them for their prayers to be answered (Jh.15:7).

God’s Word is like a fire and a hammer: “Is not MY WORD like a FIRE?” says the LORD; “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jer.23:29). His words are not mere opinions, but are like fire: able to burn and consume. In the days of Jeremiah, many were claiming to speak for God, with false “prophesies” that sounded genuine. They knew how to speak in His name though God had not sent any of them! Their messages were deceptive. They lacked God’s anointing, and their words lacked His power. God warned that these “prophets” were liars who spoke “deceit of their own heart” (Jer.23:26). But God’s Word is as different as Fire! Like Elijah declared: “the God that answers by fire, let him be God!” (1Kgs.18:24).

Both fire and hammer also represent dynamism. In particular, Fire is an active, dynamic, energetic, and powerful force, as evidenced on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Believers like cloven tongues of fire (Acts 2:3). That’s how mighty a force God’s Word is when it is released through the lips of the New Creation Believer in Christ and when it is received into the heart by the hearer or recipient! As possessors of God’s fiery Word, we must never waver at the Word, but be propelled into dynamic Faith and spiritual fervency (Gal.5:25). We must keep confessing, meditating on, and living by the Word of God, believing that it will ultimately consume all negativities that need to be consumed in our lives.