PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• Over the summer, Wayne and I had to replace our HVAC system. Our A/C has worked amazingly well, but our heat has had a few hiccups. It’s currently a brisk 66 degrees in my house and a balmy 34 outside. Thankfully, the HVAC guy will be here today (for the third time) and with his arrival, hopefully, heat will soon follow and he won’t need to come out again.
I’ve been tempted to grumble about the brand new HVAC not working properly… and may have succumbed to temptation a couple of times… though I’ve tried to stay positive. But getting out of bed was extra hard this morning. I am sitting here writing in my bathrobe and socks, drinking coffee, with a heating pad on my back. Not for soreness but for warmth.
This morning, as I glared at the thermostat on the way to the coffee pot, it occurred to me how much I’m like my HVAC system. We all are.
God made mankind in perfection for us to worship Him and fellowship with Him. He designed us in His own perfect image (Genesis 1:26). And ever since Adam and Eve sinned for the first time, we’ve been falling short of our original purpose and design.
We know we aren’t perfect, so we turn to God for forgiveness and with hearts committed to not repeat the same sins. And then, what do we do? We repeat our sins. Or we sin a whole new way!
Paul gets it. He wrote in Romans 7:15 a verse we can all relate to, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (ESV).
God is merciful though. He forgives us when we repent, and when we surrender to His will, He will mold us to be more like Christ. The more we let Him mold us, the more we operate the way we were designed—with spirits that worship Him and fellowship with God regularly!
Ephesians 5:1 ESV says, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” This follows up Ephesians 4:22-32 which instructs us on how to behave, including verse 32 which says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (ESV).
I never knew that I could learn so many spiritual truths from an HVAC system, but God always surprises us with the things He shows us!
Today, as you pray, praise God for loving us even though we fall short. Thank Him that restoration is only a repentant prayer away! Ask the Holy Spirit to keep working on you, to help you be more like Jesus.
