Hot or Cold

When my grandchildren were young, they loved to play “Hot or Cold”. I would hide something and then, as they looked for it, I would have to say whether they were “hot” or “cold”. Sometimes I would intersperse it with words like “warmer – no - getting cold.”

Paul tells us to examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). There is so much going on in the world today that, life as we once knew it, can seem like a distant memory and it could be all too easy to allow our passion for God to become lukewarm, or even cold. Satan sets up traps, snares and stumbling blocks to subtly draw us away from God.

The various lock-down measures that have needed to be applied to society have made interacting with others difficult. Despite keeping in touch via social media, which has helped, the pandemic has created a void in each one of our lives. Some people have been more severely impacted than others, but each one of us, and our individual struggles, are important to God. It is easy to become overwhelmed by circumstances, when there are too many of them, and without time to process each one before the next one hits. This is summed up in Matthew 24:12, ‘And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold’. So, how can we regain our passion for God, if it has grown cold?

For me, going back to the beginning of my journey of faith has helped. When I asked Jesus to come into my life, everything changed. The colours in nature became brighter, and excitement for life was ignited. I felt really alive. Anticipation and expectation for good became a way of life. I believe Jesus wants that for us every day, whatever the situation. John 10:10 tells us that Satan comes to rob, kill and destroy, but Jesus came to give us life in abundance. This is independent of circumstances. It is a reality that Jesus wants us to experience.

It could be that you find yourself utterly crushed at this moment and what I’ve written above seems out of reach for you. The fact that you are reading this right now shows that God is with you and wants to help you. Perhaps you might like to pray in the following way.

Prayer: Father, in the name of Jesus, thank You that You invite me to come boldly to Your throne of grace to help in my time of need. I acknowledge that, because of circumstances, my heart has grown cold towards You and I repent of allowing this to happen. I also acknowledge my need of You. Please forgive me. Jesus, I would like to invite You to please come and do a new thing in my life. Take out my heart of stone and give me a new heart of flesh, ignited with love for You and for others. Thank You for Your grace. Amen.