If Only My Heart Could Burn
When divine love ignites the soul, even the wilderness becomes luminous.
Devotional Credit: His Victorious Indwelling, compiled by Nick Harrison, featuring George Matheson
Photo Credit: Unsplash
George Matheson reflects on the image of the burning bush—a fire that consumes nothing and yet burns with divine glory. He recognizes that when earthly possessions burn, they vanish. But when the soul is set ablaze, it begins to live in ways it never has before.
His insight is piercing: it is not the presence of worldly care that dulls the soul, but the absence of inner fire. Without divine love stirring within, our strength dissolves into self-absorption and exhaustion. But when love—true, selfless, Spirit-kindled love—ignites the heart, everything changes. Worldly concerns are consumed in its holy flame. Strength rises, not from effort, but from being lifted beyond oneself into divine passion.
This fire does not destroy—it illuminates. It does not weaken—it renews. It draws the wandering eyes of desert travelers who recognize something unearthly in its glow. This is the burning heart that never burns out, because it is fueled not by effort, but by Love Himself.
✍🏼 Personalized Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I dwell in you, and I am a consuming fire—not one that destroys, but One who purifies, renews, and empowers. I do not come to extinguish your soul, but to awaken it. My presence is the flame that lights the lamp of your spirit. Without Me, you grow cold, distracted, entangled in the cares of this passing world. But when you yield to My fire, you come alive.
You were not made for complacency. You were created to burn with love—love that does not tire, love that casts out fear, love that endures all things. My love in you is not fragile. It is relentless. It does not sputter when hardship strikes or when loneliness settles in. Like the bush Moses saw, you are sustained by a flame that draws its life from Me, not from you.
The fire of My love will consume every lesser thing: every anxious thought, every self-focused ambition, every gnawing fear. And what remains will be glory—radiant, enduring, unmistakable. Others will see the glow and know it is not from this world. Your life will be a light that speaks of Me.
You do not need to manufacture passion. I am the spark. Fan into flame what I have already placed within you. Let love do its holy work. Let Me burn—not to destroy, but to reveal.
Scriptures referenced: Exodus 3:2; Hebrews 12:29; 2 Timothy 1:6; Romans 5:5; 1 John 4:18; Matthew 5:14–16
🔥 Real-Life Analogy
It’s like striking a match in the dark after struggling with cold fingers and damp wood. Nothing changes—until it catches. That one flame, small at first, radiates warmth, expands, and drives out the chill. You stop focusing on how cold you were because now, all your attention is drawn to the growing glow. That’s what divine love does to a tired, inward-turned heart—it warms, expands, and shifts the atmosphere.
🙏🏼 Prayer of Confidence
Father, I thank You that in Christ, You have already kindled Your fire within me. Your Spirit burns—not to consume me, but to refine and renew. I rejoice that I don’t need to generate love or passion from within myself. You are the source. Your flame dispels the shadows of fear, selfishness, and weariness. I trust You to keep me burning with the love of Christ—not flickering in my own strength, but ablaze with divine energy that never runs dry. Let others see not me, but the unquenchable light of Your presence in me.