"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:13
During the course of going about my day this week, I
found myself standing at the desk of our friend James Plowman. Open in front of him was his Macbook Pro
laptop. During our conversation, I
looked down at his computer. There,
about an inch and a half from the back left of his laptop, was the power
cord. It was ever-so close to where it
was supposed to be plugged in, but it was not connected to the laptop. He had become unplugged. The scene struck a
chord in my mind:
“I couldn’t happen to notice, Brother James…” I
commented in mock preacher voice, “that you are no longer plugged in to your
power source.” To which James replied in
similar style: “Why yes. I see.”
I said: “You will be able to continue in such a state
for a while…but not forever. For when
you are disconnected from the power, you will not grow stronger. You will grow weaker. You will eventually be unable to work the way
you desire to work.”
James got a wide grin on his face. He had just caught on to the double meaning
of my words. “This is true. I had better
get reconnected, and soon!”
I’ve come unplugged before. Have you?
In case you missed the meaning I was humorously sharing with Mr.
Plowman, I’m speaking of coming unplugged from my source of strength: Almighty God.
I think maybe everyone feels like they’ve come unplugged from time to
time. A warning comes from John 15:5
which reads: “…apart from Me, you can do nothing.” I do not want to remain unplugged.
Unplugged…meaning
what?
Being unplugged can manifest in varied ways. It may mean that a person has gotten out of
the habit of attending Bible Study or Sunday worship.
It might mean that through one reason or another, an
individual isn’t connecting with the community of Christian friends that
encourage them and/or hold them accountable.
Being unplugged could mean that due to the busy-ness of
life, devotion time, scripture reading and personal prayer have been pushed to
the back burner of daily living.
Perhaps there are other examples we could point
at. Suffice it to say, we don’t want to
remain unplugged when we come to the realization that we need to reconnect with
our Lord.
So how do we fix it?
How do we plug back in?
The angel of the Lord spoke to the church at Ephesus in
Revelation 2:5 with the following advice: “Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent
and do the deeds you did at first…” Today, let’s let that mean: Start praying…again. Start reading the Bible…again. Rejoin the fellowship and attendance of the
local church fellowship…again. The
distance of a thousand mile journey begins with a single step right? Then, take a step toward plugging back in!
Thinking about that Macbook Pro James Plowman had on
his desk, the tip of the power supply plug is magnetized. If it were moved just a little bit closer to
the computer then the magnetism would take over and close the gap. It would practically plug itself in! We are much the same way. James 4:8 says: “Draw near to God and He will
draw near to you.” Likewise, Revelation 3:20 reads: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my
voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with
me.”
Let’s get plugged in…again. Okay?
Okay.
Almighty God, Our hearts are
prone to wander; and this world has many distractions, many voices, calling for
our loyalty, service, and attention. This day, we can hear you calling us to
plug back in. We may be able to coast
along for quite a while, but ultimately, the faith we had yesterday is not
where you want us to be tomorrow. Fill
us with your Holy Spirit, set our faith ablaze again. Plug us back into you. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Submitted By Kerry Patton
