I started writing these words last night, but I had to close the laptop and go to bed because I was fading. My eyelids were heavier than my enthusiasm. Sadly, lately exhaustion has followed me around. like a very bad best friend. I still have 3 loads of laundry sitting on the dining room table to deal with, and don’t even mention how behind I am on responding to email. Most nights I just fizzle out on the couch in front of the TV and wonder where my day went. I want to live a fervent life, but life whizzes by so fast, I feel like it’s slipping through my fingers, and I want to call a time out to catch my breath.

Can you relate? Do you feel like you are making very little progress, but you desperately want to live a more passionate and purposeful life?

I hope to be a better wife who is in tune with the bents of her husband.

I desire to draw near to my God with a fully devoted heart — one that doesn’t fall asleep in prayer or struggle to quiet the crazy noises in her head to really sit at His feet.

I wish I could do more to truly show up and serve the people God has placed in my life instead of collapsing on the couch and having a good cry because I I lack the emotional energy. My well is running dry, and it is not well with my soul. I am letting the wrong people suck the life out of me instead of surrounding myself with uphill people heading in the right direction.

I want so much more out of life. Jesus, help me.

Are you starting this year with a holy dissatisfaction about how your life has played out over the last few years? Do you want to make an eternal difference and see things change?

Yeah, me too.

Having an unexpected Cancer diagnosis in November really shook up my life. (Side note: I am fine now. Don’t be alarmed if you are just getting this news. You can read more about that here.) I have spent a whole lot of time on my knees doing business with my God over the last 12 weeks, and let me tell you something, it’s been good for my soul. I got a lovely reminder that this world is not my home. My days here are numbered no matter what, and I need to make the most of every moment.

I want to live a more fervent life. 

I want to leave my mark on the people I am called to love. When I take my last breath, I want them to say, “She loved like Jesus. She knew Him well.”  And to do that, I have to get up off the couch and get to work. Want to join me? Here are 4 areas of my life I want to hold up to the Lord and work on this year.

4 Priorities for a More Fervent Life

Fervent in Faith

I want to live a more fruitful life. This starts by laying aside my agenda and asking God to give me a deep, abiding love for His Word because His Word revives my soul.

“…so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord displaying admirable character, moral courage, and personal integrity, to fully please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing in the knowledge of God with deeper faith, clearer insight and fervent love for His precepts.” (Colossians 1:10, AMP)

Fervent in Love

Without the love of Christ, I cannot show up in hard spaces and spend time with broken people. I need to stop expecting frail, humans to not fail me because only God is perfect and faithful and true all the time. I want to extend God’s grace to others because it’s God’s kindness that leads to repentance and His mighty love covers a multitude of sins. His sacrificial love wins, and I need to fight with the right weapons.

“Since by your obedience to the Truth through the Holy Spirit you have purified your hearts for the sincere affection of the brethren, see that you love one another fervently from a pure heart.” (I Peter 1:22, AMPC)

Fervent in Prayer

I am committed to doing the hard work of prayer — because the battle is won on my knees. I am going to stop letting the enemy of my soul discourage me and keep me from seeking God’s redemption in the lives of the people I love. The accuser of the brethren does not get the last word about the people on my prayer list. Jesus is able to to anything, and I am never going to give up fighting for their souls. I will pray on and persevere.  

“My hands also will I lift up in fervent supplication to Your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on Your statutes.” (Psalm 119:48, AMPC)

Fervent in Spirit

I will no longer let discouragement drag me down and keep me from doing the work God has created me to do. I am here on a mission, and I get to partner with God to make an eternal difference. I want to live a life of sacrificial service and stop getting distracted by shiny things and stupid temptations. I want to redeem the time God has granted me to leave a legacy.

“…not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” (Romans 12:11, NASB)

Need more inspiration on how to live more fervent? I’ve created a one-page printable to help you FUEL your quiet time. This simple 4-step format will help you focus in on one verse and see God’s Word come alive in your heart. Sign up today as a member of the Wildfire Faith Community and  grab a copy in our Faith Fuel Library.

A fervent life burns brightly for Jesus and does not burn out. When we fuel up with the Word and fight in prayer, the Lord will fill us up with His overcoming strength, and we will start seizing every opportunity to share Christ with those around us. Fear and discouragement will not win the day —  our faith will overcome.

What are you waiting for? Let’s get up off the couch and get started. God has even greater things planned for this year. Let’s stop looking at all the opposition as obstacles to block our path, and instead seize the day as an opportunity to lean into God and see Him do a mighty work in our world.

God is not finished with you yet. With His help you can push past fear and discouragement to live a more fervent life.

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Let’s Chat:  My Word for 2020 is FERVENT. Did you pick a word or Scripture as a theme for your year?

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