Do You Have Water & Power?
Do you have water and power? This seems to be the question we’ve all been asking each other over the last few days. We want to make sure those we care about aren’t without the things they need to survive during this unprecedented winter storm. My family’s group chat has been overflowing with status updates, survival strategies, and explanations of copious terms such as questionable microbiological water quality.
Of all the things I’ve done to prepare for these few days of uncertainty, the one that intrigued me the most was last night when I decided to put a bowl under my dripping faucets to collect the water droplets. If they needed to be dripping anyway, I figured I might as well collect the water instead of allowing it to just go down the drain. In less than fifteen minutes, all my little disposable bowls were almost completely full. I was blown away! If they filled up that fast, imagine how much water I could accumulate overnight!
Immediately I went and replaced my plastic bowls with much larger vessels. Then, I plugged all the sinks in expectation of the overflow. When I woke up this morning, I was amazed by how much water I had accumulated. I was able to use the overflow to do a little spot cleaning and I was able to boil the water in the vessels in case I needed it for consumption. While I was doing this, I made sure all my electronic devices had a full charge, as well as all my portable chargers. Heaven forbid, if my electricity did happen to go out, I was prepared to curl up by the fireplace and enjoy a nice silent night.
We are all doing what we believe is necessary to be prepared for this winter storm, but how much do we prepare for the everyday storms of life? How often does our faith grow cold because we aren’t allowing it to continuously flow? How much of our resources and wisdom do we waste because we have an overabundance, instead of blessing others with our overflow. The Bible says the very same power that raised Christ from the dead lives inside of us. But how many of us find ourselves completely depleted when we need to access that power, because we fail to stay connected to The Power Source? Why is it that we only attempt to light the fire within us after we’re freezing cold, only to realize we don’t even remember how to rekindle the fire because it’s been so long since the last time it was lit?
Why do we wait until all else fails before we decide to get quiet before the Lord? Or even worse, how many of us even with all the warnings and predictions, have not done anything to be prepared? Then we put ourselves and others in even more danger by trying to travel on roads we were never equipped to travel. How many of us are going to be like the five virgins who go to meet the bridegroom but don’t have any oil in their lamps and when they finally decide to go get some, they regrettably realize it’s too late?
Ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow is not promised. We need to stop living our lives reacting to times of crisis, lack, and uncertainty. We need to be available empty vessels, ready and willing to filled with the water of the Word. We need to be willing to be tried by fire to ensure we are clean, purified, and usable. There needs to be a continuous filling process, so we never grow cold and we never run dry. We need to stay connected to The Source, so we can maintain a full charge and so our fire won’t go out. These are all things we need to survive the storms of life. So let me ask you again… Do you have water and power?
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