What Can I Do If The Fire Goes Out?

I want a taste to see if the Lord is good

I want to know if I am hurt and if I am understood

See if the selfish desire's some stupid thing

Or if heaven desires something deep within

Do I throw my clothes in the fire?

Do I throw my hopes in the fire?

Do those things grow in the fire

Or burn just to keep me alive?

Can you still show me a way?

Can you still show me a life?

Can you still show me how to live?

….

These lyrics from a band I just discovered keep playing in my head, and I feel the need to write. I am writing for everyone who feels like their fire is gone. For anyone who doesn’t know how to move forward this year. For those who feel lost and wonder how to keep going when the spark is gone.

I understand.

When the fire goes out, it feels like everything inside you has gone cold. The passion, the energy, the drive that used to keep you moving—it’s like it disappeared. And now, you are left wondering if you will ever feel alive again.

What can you do when the fire goes out? How do you keep living when the thing that once lit you up is gone?

Start small.

Don’t throw everything into the fire in frustration. Instead, look for a tiny ember—a small glow that’s still there, hiding beneath the ashes of your tiredness, disappointment, or sadness. It could be something simple, like getting out of bed when it feels hard. Sitting in the sunlight when you’d rather stay inside. Saying a short prayer even when you are unsure what to say. Or flipping through an old journal that once held your dreams.

The fire doesn’t always come back quickly. Sometimes it grows slowly, little by little.

And that’s okay.

The fire doesn’t always need to burn brightly. Sometimes, it’s enough for it to flicker softly. So, if you feel like your fire has gone out, this is my hope for you:

May you find even a tiny spark in the ashes. May you believe that, even when you feel empty, you still have the strength to start again. May you have the courage to search for light, even in the darkest moments. And may you come to see that the fire doesn’t only burn to keep you going. It burns to remind you that you’re already alive.