If You Want the Fire, You Must Eat It

I saw the Spirit of the Lord holding out His hand, offering fire. I knew immediately this was not symbolic of emotion or excitement, nor was it a fleeting encounter meant to stir inspiration. This fire carried weight. It represented authority—government entrusted by God to His people for what is coming. I understood in that moment that what He was offering was connected to how His people would walk with Him in the days ahead, especially as we move into a new level of responsibility and power in 2026.

Before I could reach for it, the Lord spoke and said, “Open your mouth and eat it.” When I obeyed, the fire burned my throat. The pain was not violent, but it was unmistakable. And with it came understanding. To speak with fire, I would have to be willing to be burned by it first. Authority does not come without refinement, and power does not pass through an unpurified voice.

Scripture reveals this pattern repeatedly. When God entrusts His word with authority, He often requires His servants to eat it before they are allowed to speak it. Ezekiel was commanded to eat the scroll, and though it was sweet in his mouth, it carried bitterness within him. Jeremiah said he ate the words of the Lord, and they became his joy and delight, yet his life was marked by suffering and rejection because of the message he carried. God’s word is sweet in promise, but costly in obedience. Those who carry it must be willing to absorb its weight before releasing its sound.

The fire burned my throat because authority flows through the mouth. Jesus taught that the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart, and God is not releasing fire from mouths that have not first been purified. Isaiah understood this when the seraphim touched his lips with a burning coal. Only after his mouth was cleansed did God ask, “Whom shall I send?” Fire always precedes commissioning. It purifies motives, strips mixture, and removes the fear of man before God releases authority.

This is why the fire being offered now is not for the casual or the comfortable. God is raising a people who will not simply repeat what sounds powerful but who will speak what has cost them something. His word is like fire, and like a hammer that breaks rock into pieces. Fire breaks what flesh tries to protect. It exposes what religion hides. It removes the ability to speak safely or live diplomatically. Jesus said that everyone will be salted with fire. Not everyone will carry it, but everyone who does will be marked by it.

This word is not a gentle invitation to remain unchanged. It is a challenge to the Body. God is offering greater authority, but it will not coexist with comfort, compromise, or self-preservation. Many want the fire of God, but few are willing to let it burn away ambition, control, and the desire for approval. Many want to speak boldly, but are unwilling to let God burn their throat—to refine their voice until only truth remains.

The Lord is still holding out His hand. The offer remains. But the question is not whether we desire the fire. The real question is whether we are willing to eat it. Whether we are willing to be burned by it. Whether we are willing to speak only what survives the fire. Our God is a consuming fire, and those who accept this invitation will not simply speak with authority. They will walk alongside Him, carrying His weight, stewarding His presence, and releasing His fire with purity and power.