Have your battery tested while you are here today
Sitting in absolute silence, the shabby waiting room at the car dealership is anything but comfortable. I've been coming here for years and the furniture is in definite need of an overhaul. As springs protrude from the chair I am in, you might be wondering why I didn't choose another. The remainder of the chairs are worn, sagging and way too low to the ground for my creaking bones. I've tried to make conversation with the other occupants of the “ lounge" but each is engrossed in their cell phones, pretending to have something important to do that demands their attention. Casually, I glance at a sign on the wall which reads:
HAVE YOUR BATTERY TESTED WHILE YOU ARE HERE
I'm immediately whisked away to my imagination and begin to compare my spirit to a car battery. If my battery was indeed checked, where would it stand? I think the Holy Spirit is holding a sign up daily, that asks me to check my battery. Car batteries are amazing and they power complex bits and pieces that I don't have all the names for, but they do wear out and sometimes go flat.
I think we, too, go flat more often than we realize. Without constant connection to our power source, Father God, we will eventually run out of steam and will be unable to power the things we need to do each day. If regular checks are essential to maintain optimum function of your car, how much more necessary is it to have daily checks of your mind, soul and spirit. Small seemingly insignificant oversights can lead to massive, costly repairs later. Similarly, when we fail to check in with the Holy Spirit, we are setting ourselves up for trouble, and it may be today rather than down the road.
As a nation, we are more fixated than ever before on personal attention and transformation.
“Be the best version of yourself”, literally screams from the social media pages day after day and desire for recreation has us all wondering at the end of our work week where we need to “go” to refresh and renew. We have the phrase “we need to unplug” and generally speaking, it is referring to our busy, chaotic, overfilled, over demanding lives. We can certainly benefit from recreation and a shift in our routine but I have found that if your life is that chaotic, then usually, something bigger needs to change.
We charge our electronic devices every night, making sure we have enough battery-life for the next day….I wonder what would happen if we charged our spiritual batteries with the same diligence. Sometimes it’s hard to know how to do that but God gives us so many hints in Scripture that we would be crazy to ignore.
Matthew 11:28
Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest
Psalm 46:10
Be still and know that I am God
1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for you
Simply put, decide to spend time with the Lord every day. It may feel like you are using jumper cables at first, but that’s ok. You have to know your battery has a problem before you can fix it but sometimes an emergency happens and a jumper cable is necessary to get you where you need to go in the short term. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that a temporary fix, (jumper cable), will suffice for the long journey ahead. Invest in your “spiritual batteries” and you will have all the power you need.