I told this story in church last Sunday but I want to elaborate on it a little more here in this blog. As six men in our church were going on a retreat to Oregon last week, we decided to take my conversion van, yes the one in my last blog for which I aligned the wheels and changed the oil. Everything was working perfectly, I even got the CD changer to work (so we could listen to Bluegrass music for the 6 hour ride down to Oregon!!!!)...anyway, I digress.
After filling up with gas, and going back to the church, the van starts to over heat! I thought "you got to be kidding! It's never ever done this before!" So immediately I began to think, this is no coincidence...it's the devil trying to sabatage our trip, so I began praying and rebuking the devil and asking God to cover us and protect us and let it not be something big that would hinder us from going on our men's retreat. All the way back to church I was praying and rebuking the devil from having any stronghold in our group or our van.
I arrived at home and let the van cool off and opened the radiator cap and do you know what? The radiator was about 2 gallons low on water! In my preperation of the van, I had checked every fluid level but the water level, because it had not ever been a problem before. Over time it had just evaporated to the point of being low, as it does not leak a drop of water. So I filled it with antifreeze and water and it worked like a charm and never gave us one bit of trouble.
( I know this is long but stick with me) So driving back to the church, it hit me...or rather I think God hit me...was this a ploy of the devil to discourage me OR...could it have been GOD saying, "hey, check the water before you go on this long trip, I'm reminding you so I can protect you." WOW! Here I was, misinterpreting this event as an attack from satan when, in after thought, it was a kind reminder by God saying "check the ONE THING you didn't check!" So I quit rebuking the devil and started thanking God for His reminder and protection!
As I preach on spiritual warfare, we have to be careful not to give the devil more credit than he's due. Sometimes it's through adverse circumstances (vehicle overheating) that God is trying to teach us something and...in our case to protect us. I'm sure that my prayers to rebuke the devil and ask God for His protection didn't hurt either. But...after the whole event was over with the maintence of the van, I sure felt like a dip-stick! (and I'm not talking about the oil checker.)
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1 comment:
Dan:
We live in a world in which a variety of laws and processes are working. One of those is entropy, or a tendancy toward randomness. Things (cars, tanks, trains, airplanes, autoclaves, computers,and so forth) need maintenance, or they break down. God has gifted us with incredible analytical abilities. Manufactures, the military, the medical profession, and others place a tremendous emphasis on preventive maintenance. But we all make mistakes and forget things. Next time you will remember to check the coolant level. However, do not discount the abilities of others. God has gifted pastors, teachers, elders, and others. But he also created mechanics, soldiers, microbiologists, geologists, and a host of other professions. Seek out their help and guidance. I could probably change my own oil. But I want someone experienced working on my cars. I have made some absolutely marvelous decisions, but some utterly foolish/stupid ones as well. God helps us learn through some of those foolish decisions. When we do something out of ignorance, he helps us. When we do something out of stubborness, he helps us, but "chuckles" at us as well.
Have a good day,
Paul
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