Is There a Fire in Your Bones…not from Heartburn!?

We’ve all heard the expression, “there’s a fire in my bones” or a “fire in my belly”.  I’m not sure where those expressions come from and I didn’t feel like googling it but I have an idea where the “fire in my bones” expression comes from and it might be a source you had not thought of.  In Jeremiah, chapter 20, the prophet Jeremiah has pretty much had enough.  He has been given a task to proclaim bad news to the nation of Judah, news of God’s judgment because of their sin.  As you might guess, this has not made him very popular with the locals.  In a moment of complete transparency and frustration, Jeremiah says this in verse 9:  “Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name…”  In today’s words, Jeremiah says, “I’m out!”  I don’t want to talk about God and His ways anymore.  It’s not working for me; in fact, I’m suffering for it.  But then we read the rest of the verse:  …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.”  I’m not sure how long a period of time elapsed between the first part of the verse and the second part of the verse but Jeremiah decides that God’s word cannot stay inside of him.  It is like a fire in his bones, which cannot be contained.  Despite the suffering and the persecution and the lack of attention his words are producing, Jeremiah is going to keep speaking God’s word.

Is that fire in your bones?  I confess that this is not always the case for me but I want it to be the case every day of my life.  Fire needs two things to burn…wood (or some type of fuel) and oxygen.  For me, the fuel is the word of God and the oxygen is the Holy Spirit.  When I “feed” myself with the word of God, the Holy Spirit takes that “fuel” and causes the flame to burn.  If you don’t have a flame, consider if you are feeding yourself.  If the fire in your bones is not caused by the word of God, consider stopping eating late night pizza or nachos!