Galatians 5:22-23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Years ago, Joyce and I were traveling in northern Idaho. We had just pulled onto the highway when Joyce asked, “What is that hissing sound?” Those words always make me shiver when I am driving. Sure enough, we had a broken hose.
We made it to a lake, but there were a number of problems. (1) The turn-out was in loose gravel. (2) We had had no container to get water. (3) It was 15 or so feet down a bank to the lake. (4) The radiator was sizzling hot. (5) I was not in the best physical condition in the world. (6) We did not know if we could make it out of the gravel if we did get the car cooled enough to drive. I am sure there may have been other problems, but these come to mind.
I finally located an empty soda can and made my first of many, many, many, trips down to the lake and back. After more than an hour we had the radiator filled and were ready for our dash into town.
I have never heard such a sick sound as that engine made when I started it up. I am sure that it was firing on only a few cylinders, but it was the best we could do. I dropped into gear but nothing happened. My sweet wife, Joyce, prayed one of the most honest prayers I ever heard her pray: “Lord, kick this thing in the afterburner!” Immediately the engine came alive and gravel went flying everywhere. We made it safely into town and pulled into the first garage we could find and went next door to cool off.
As we sat in a booth drinking glass after glass of cool fresh water, we reflected on the incident. We quoted together today’s scripture, the fruit of the Spirit. We could honestly feel that the Spirit was with us in that loose gravel that threatened to mire us down. Another blessing was that it was a very small hose and the cost to repair it was almost nothing. Ain’t God good!
Sometimes we get mired down in the gravel pits of life and feel that there is no way out. If you are there, I encourage you to pray Joyce’s prayer — “Lord, kick this thing in the afterburner and get me out of this mess.”
I especially pray that you will be aware of the blessed fruit of the Spirit to minister to you and give you peace in your storm. Amen.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com