Winter Danger: Spiritual Hypothermia

One of the greatest dangers of wintertime is hypothermia. But Christians should be even more concerned about spiritual hypothermia.

As winter draws near and temperatures drop in the Northern Hemisphere, hypothermia becomes more of a concern. Hypothermia is a condition that occurs when the body loses heat to its surroundings faster than it can produce it. The result is a dangerously low body temperature.

Hypothermia can cause a person to become clumsy, sleepy and confused. However, because hypothermia can set in gradually, a person may not realize it is happening until it is too late. As hypothermia progresses, a person may become increasingly apathetic to the cold, thus allowing the condition to continue and worsen. Hypothermia affects a person’s thinking and judgment. If not noticed and properly treated in time, hypothermia can lead to death. 

Heat is needed

The Holy Spirit is sometimes pictured by fire in the Bible (Acts 2:2-3; 1 Thessalonians 5:19). Converted Christians have the Holy Spirit in them, and teens in the Church of God can have the Holy Spirit with them. But we live in a world that is cold toward the ways of God. Jesus Christ foretold that in the end times even Church members could be affected: “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). If we do not practice God’s laws, our love will grow cold (1 John 5:3). Spiritual cooling can have dire consequences.

How can we stir up the Holy Spirit and avoid spiritual hypothermia this winter?

1. Avoid compromise. Compromising with God’s laws weakens our desire to please Him. When we allow compromise to creep into our lives, it slowly cools our passion for the truth. If we allow compromise in our lives, we become increasingly comfortable with its presence, and we may not notice the gradual cooling of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Just as physical hypothermia can lead to death if untreated, gradual compromise can lead to the quenching of God’s Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

2. Stir the fire. The opposite of quenching a fire is stirring up and feeding a fire. When tempted by Satan the devil in the wilderness, Jesus Christ said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Physical food provides the energy that our bodies need to produce heat and stay warm. Studying the Bible (God’s Word) and applying it in our lives provides us with the spiritual food to stay energized. Prayer is another method of stirring up the fire of the Holy Spirit. Just as our bodies need physical food and just as fires need fuel and stirring to remain alive, we need to feed and stir up (use) the Holy Spirit in our lives to keep us spiritually hot in a world that is increasingly cold.

3. Don’t get used to the cold. Someone with hypothermia often grows accustomed to the cold, and may not know that he or she is becoming hypothermic. Hypothermia is especially dangerous for this reason—it can come about quickly and go unnoticed.

I recently experienced this. I became cold while sitting in my tree stand this past week; and while I knew I was cold, I began to feel less and less cold. I thought I was warming back up. However, when I finally came in from the cold, I had some difficulty walking normally, and my arms weren’t responding properly. When I took my temperature, I realized I had not warmed up—I had simply grown used to feeling cold! Because I didn’t realize how much heat I had lost, I ended up with hypothermia.

God’s chosen ones are called to come out of a world that is spiritually cold. We are in the world, but not of the world (John 17:15-16). While we must for a time live in a world that is not warm toward God’s ways, we must not become like the world. We must not love the world or the things of the world (1 John 2:15). We will become like the people we spend our time with. Consistently being around those who try to pull us away from God will affect our ability to stay warm spiritually. That is why it is important for Christians to have friends who share their beliefs and values.

4. Stay active. Physical activity keeps the body burning fuel to create heat. Therefore, physical activity can help one stay warm in a cold environment. This can be done spiritually by seeking ways to serve your congregation, staying involved in church activities and finding ways to participate and support the greater work of the Church. We must be actively seeking to put into practice the knowledge of God’s ways that we learn.

Just as physical hypothermia is a dangerous condition to the body, spiritual hypothermia is a dangerous condition for God’s people.

Keep warm and don’t let the coldness of the world cool your spiritual heat.

In order to avoid spiritual hypothermia a Christian must be growing in the fruits of God’s Holy Spirit. To learn more about this spiritual fruit, read our articles on “The Fruit of the Spirit.”

Gabriella Kroska is currently a senior in high school taking dual-credit college courses at St. Cloud State University. She will graduate next year with her high school diploma and an Associate’s degree. She attends the Twin Cities, Minnesota congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association.