"Dead Battery"

This morning Kimberly came back into the house from the garage and said, "The car won't start." Those are not the words I want to hear to start the day. To make matters worst, the reason the car did not start was because of my doing. When I arrived home from work yesterday, I left the keys in the ignition. I did not leave the car running, but I left the key in the on position meaning the battery was used up all night. So, this morning the battery was dead.

What in the world was I thinking? Why did I leave the key in the ignition and the battery running? The answer is simple: my mind was not focused on what I was doing. My mind was dancing with other thoughts about 100 other things rather than the task at hand. As a result this morning the battery was dead.

God used that dead battery to remind me that I was doing the same thing to myself this week. Monday and Tuesday I was "too busy" to really stop and meditate on God's word and to talk and listen to His Spirit in prayer. While I was allowing my mind to dance with 100 other things, I was letting my battery go dead. I am thankful that the Father loves me enough to warn me when my battery is running low.

This morning I was reading in Acts 13 and the last verse grabbed my attention. It reads, "And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit." If you take this verse out of context, one might be led to assume that something really good must have happened for the disciples to experience such joy and filling. However, just the opposite is true. Right before this verse it says, "The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. But the Jews incited God-fearing women of high standing and leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit."

How could the disciples be filled with joy, let alone the Holy Spirit, when their circumstances were providing any reason but joy and filling? Why isn't their battery dead in light of persecution and rejection? Apparently, they realized what I forget...joy is not dependent on one's positive or negative circumstances, but on one's connection to the Holy Spirit who has the power to keep us full in the face of draining circumstances.

How is your battery this week? Are you plugging into the circumstances of this week? If so, then your battery is as good as dead. Come, with me, unplug from everything else that you have to do this week and plug into the Holy Spirit. Trust me...the time you you think you don't have to do this will be more than made up for by the fresh charge of joy the Holy Spirit will pump into your battery.

Holy Spirit, forgive me for thinking I can run on my own power. Holy Spirit, thank you for turning me back to you before my battery went dead.