By Mark Maher
“Do not quench the Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19) Let the spirit lead, and your job is simply to get out of the way and don’t quench it. He’s in you. His spirit is inside of you already, just trust His voice.
We can’t let “fear” quench the spirit. We have to trust God and allow the spirit to flow freely. The more you can “feed your faith” and get the Word in you, the more it will flow out of you. If the world’s voice is too loud, we’ll have to learn how to diminish it. “Make every effort to keep yourselves UNITED IN THE Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.” (Ephesians 4:3)
I want to give God “my all” and see where it takes me. I want to trust God. I’m determined to be single minded and choose not to let doubt, fear or insecurity creep in. This way I’ll never look back and wonder what might’ve been. I’ll give God everything I have. How can I let Him lead, if I’m always putting His momentum on pause. This is my new year’s resolution. I will love God unconditionally and strive to never “quench the spirit.”
I haven’t regretted a minute with God. So why would I get in the way of God? Why would I block the blessing? I’ll give Him my best every single day. What has God laid on your heart as of late? Your job is to give that 100% effort. This way you’ll have no regrets. Go find out what’s on the other side of this.
When the spirit speaks to you, make it your habit to do what it tells you. If it’s coming from a place of Christ, you don’t want to put it on pause. We can be fruitful in the waiting. We can be diligent in the downtime. We can always be preparing our heart for the next door that God opens.
If the spirit moves you, you go. There’s no hesitation. Your only responsibility is to figure out why “the spirit” wants you to move. If you’re walking closely with Christ, this is going to happen all the time. Who gave you the “power to quench the spirit?” This thing is not about you, it’s God working in you, who has taken residency inside you the minute you let Him in. “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.” (Romans 8:9)
“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but TEST THEM ALL; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19–22 NIV)
Test why God gave you this epiphany. Why did God give you this Word? I say, by faith, let’s find out immediately. Maybe the calling has been divinely inspired by God. Let’s not be the one to “quench it.” “Go (from all that is familiar to you) to a land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1)
What “trust me” situation has been placed before you. What door has been opened. “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close.” (Revelation 3:8) Now, today, in 2025, you are being called to “walk by faith, and not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) You may struggle trusting, but the pull from God is too strong, so now you’re forced to trust Him. But take courage, God’s got you, so “be anxious for nothing.” (Philippians 4:6)
I say fan the flame of faith. Set it ablaze, for our “God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:27-29) and we know that God can do more than we can “ask, think or imagine.” (Ephesians 3:20) This is the blessing you’ve been praying for, and “the LORD restored and gave twice as much as before.” (Job 42:10)
The devil ONLY comes to kill, steal and destroy, but Christ came to give us life and to live life to the full.” (John 10:10) So I embrace that. I choose to go all in. Only the devil does the quenching and my faith is too aware of the false fear. The devil’s preferred method is to impose fear onto my faith. But “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Matthew 16:23)
Let’s reflect on some of the barriers to the spirit. Fear, doubt, insecurity, false narratives, people, and the drift from the faith. We have to courageously knock down all the barriers that may potentially block the spirit. We have to be ready to impose our faith. “God gave us his Spirit. And the Spirit doesn’t make us weak and fearful. Instead, the Spirit gives us power and love and self control.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Any effort to follow God’s calling other than through “His energy that He powerfully works within me” (Colossians 1:29) is to quench the Spirit. “Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being of ONE ACCORD, of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:2-4)
I have one calling and that is to “Speak Life” and “to encourage.” I will not thwart the spirit. Show up everyday and “He who began a good work will take it to completion.” (Philippians 1:6) “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (Luke 12:48)
