We All Need a Tune Up From Time to Time
June 1, 2016
Recently I took off from work to do some cleaning outside around the house. I really enjoy yard work because it is physical, I love being in the sun and it affords me the great pleasure of focusing on mindless activity. When I am doing that kind of activity, I spend a lot of time meditating on God’s word. The Holy Spirit has given me some of my best sermons when I was doing yard work. I can only imagine how he spoke to some of the Old Testament leaders like David and Moses when they were out doing the mindless work of tending to the sheep.
I had two goals to achieve during my time off. First, I wanted to remove some of the brush that had grown up in the backyard and then secondly, I wanted to pressure wash my fence. When I finished using the chain saw and pruner on the brush and saw it surrender, I felt such a sense of pride come over me as I stood and viewed the great job I had done. Now it was time to do the meticulous job of pressure washing. If you have never used a pressure washer before, let me tell you there is a lot of prep work that goes into the setup. To give you an example, you have to connect the hoses to the unit and the water supply; insert the chemical line into the cleaner you plan to use, connect the water gun and select the nozzle for dispensing the chemical for rinsing off the object you are cleaning. All of this has to be done before you even start the unit.
I had done all of my prep work and I was excited and ready to go. My pressure washer is about twenty years old. When I pulled the cord to start the engine, it started on the first attempt just like it has always done in the past when I used it. I thought to myself, wow what a good machine. It ran for about five minutes and then died. I did not panic, because it has done that once or twice in the past. I tried to start it again, but it kept sputtering, but would not run continuously. I knew something was wrong when I saw the black smoke coming out of the exhaust. I cleaned the spark plug and tried to start it again, but it took several attempts before it finally started running. Eventually it died again. How could I think that I could use the machine for such an extended period and never have it tuned up?
It is the same way with our spirits, we need a spiritual tune up from time to time. Just going to church on Sunday is not enough. We need to spend time in God’s word and prayer so that we remain spiritually tuned up. When it is time to be used, there is no sputtering or failing. We are ready and willing to be called into action. Let’s stay spiritually refreshed so that we can be available when He calls on us.