You're just jealous.

Take heed unto yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything, which the LORD your God has forbidden you. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. - Deut. 4:23-24

It’s time. The hour has finally come for Israel to go into the Promised Land and for Moses to climb the mountain in the wilderness one last time. The man of God knows he cannot cross over into the land, but he can remind the Israelites how to get and keep possession of it. So he stands in front of the multitude and issues a series of sobering directives that will help Israel maintain the promise God has given… Don’t ever forget the Lord’s covenant. Never make a graven image. Don’t ever go after other gods, no matter what the nations around you do. Moses warns Israel that Jehovah is a jealous God. He isn’t just a pillar of fire; He is a consuming fire, and He will not share His glory or His people with another.

God is jealous, and His jealousy reveals two powerful facets of His nature. The first is His holiness and absolute sovereignty. All seeing, all knowing, all powerful and ever present, He is the one true God and He will have no idols before Him. There is no god beside Him, above Him or like Him. He reigns supreme. He is a holy God who expects a holy people, and His jealousy manifests when we go after other gods or make light of His holiness. But His jealousy also manifests to show another part of His nature – love. The Lord loves us with an everlasting love, and He is jealous for us because He is in eternal relationship with us. Jealousy is confirmation that He allows Himself to be affected by us. He is touched by our words, moved by our actions and provoked by the meditations of our heart. He has a soft spot for us. That’s why He draws us when we don’t know how to come to Him. That’s why He forgives us over and over again. That’s why He protects us and defends our honor even when we have not acted honorably. He is jealous for us (not of us), and His love causes Him to move on our behalf.

But the question is, Are we jealous for Him?

Like the Israelites, we must be careful not to pursue other gods, and pivotal seasons like Pentecost always require us to search our hearts for idols. Idols of today aren’t made of wood or stone, so they aren’t as easily detected. Most of them are things that can be good for us as long as they are not placed above God (e.g. family, work, ministry, education, possessions, etc.). The way we handle these things reveals that for which we are most jealous. When we are truly jealous for God, we honor Him by prioritizing Him at all times. We seek Him first, we seek His face, and we receive His love. We do not fear being consumed by Him because we are already consumed with Him, and we manifest His fire in our daily lives.

Since every manifestation of God’s fire is fueled by intimacy with Him, Pentecost is a season in which we should be particularly intentional about prioritizing closeness with the Lord. If you’re wondering how to do that in a practical way, start with your attention, affection and allegiance. Give your full attention to God again and ask Holy Spirit to help you in any area that your mind has not been stayed on the Lord. This will restore your peace. Then examine your affections and invite Holy Spirit to reveal anything that you have become more dedicated to than Him. If He shows you an area, repent, return to the word and prayer, and ask Him to incline your heart to Him again. This will restore your flow. Then, check your allegiance. Recommit to God and invite Holy Spirit to address the issue that caused you to ever go astray. Let Him work in you, on you and through you as you prepare for Pentecost. This will restore your fire.