Dead Battery
On Thursday, I was supposed to go to a small group with a friend. All dressed up, I stepped out and tried opening the door of my car with the automatic key, and it would not work. Then I tried it the traditional way and stepped into the car, but the car wouldn't start. I was not sure what to do and started panicking a bit. The last time my car wouldn't start, it had a starter problem, and I had to pay a lot to fix it. This time, I was hoping and praying it wasn't a starter problem again. I reached out to a friend who told me to hold off on contacting the mechanic as it could be a dead battery problem. The friend promised to come to check it and jumpstart it in case it was a dead battery problem, so I wouldn't have to pay exorbitant fees to the mechanic.
After a few hours, my friend did come with jumper cables and a working vehicle that didn’t have a dead battery 😅, and confirmed it was a dead battery. At first, the jumper cables couldn't reach my car as there were other cars parked in between. I went around the apartment complex, knocking on every door and asking if anyone owned the car blocking mine. Unfortunately, all of that effort was fruitless, as we could not find the owner. We decided to park my friend's car behind mine and hope the jumper cables would reach.
This time, it worked; the jumper cables did reach my dead battery. The red clamps were connected to the positive terminal of my dead battery, and the black clamps were connected to the negative terminal of my dead battery. After a few minutes of letting the working car charge the dead battery, we attempted to start my car, and this time it did start. My friend suggested that we let my car charge or run on its own for about 30 minutes to recharge the battery, and we did just that.
At this juncture, I am sure you are wondering why I am boring you with the story of my dead battery 😅. I had time to think about the whole situation yesterday, and I personally think it mirrors spirituality. There are times in life when your spiritual battery is dead. This can mean a state of spiritual dryness, that place when you don't even have the energy to pray or study His word, or studying or praying seems so difficult. It could be a state of being empty or drained, far from God or lacking the motivation to engage in spiritual practices.
I am here to remind you and myself that just like a dead battery hinders the car from starting, a dead spiritual life hinders growth or movement (spiritually). A dead spiritual battery makes discerning God's will and enjoying the joy of salvation harder.
I am also here to remind you and me that just like my car's battery needed to be charged, it's okay for our spiritual lives to need charging too.
One aspect of jumpstarting a car that I found intriguing is the need for a working battery to revive the dead one. Little wonder the Bible says in Proverbs 27:17 that iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Having spiritual friends can recharge our faith. When we are spiritually low, having godly friends who can pray for us, encourage us, and remind us of God's truth and love is important. Therefore, surround yourself with spiritual friends who can charge you up or jumpstart you when your spiritual battery is dead 😅.
Another aspect of jumpstarting a car that stood out to me was that we needed to let my car run for about 30 minutes, allowing the battery to recharge independently. This just reminds us that inasmuch as having spiritual friendships and communities is extremely important, we still need to maintain our spiritual health and battery personally. There is a need to recharge ourselves by spending time alone with God in worship, His word, and prayers. For instance, it's okay to jumpstart by joining NLP, NSPPD, and other important group prayers and meetings, but it is consistent personal devotion that sustains us. We still need to recharge ourselves alone with God without the jumpstarting cables and a working car. We have to recharge ourselves, and hopefully, over time, we become the "working cars" that can jumpstart other cars (lives) with dead spiritual batteries.
So, remember that it's okay to seek support if you are feeling spiritually drained. Allow godly friends to encourage you and take time to recharge with God.
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