Daily Devotional September 30, 2020

This past Saturday, I noticed that the gravel road leading from my house to the front gate was in really bad shape.  Through years of use and abuse, the gravel could hardly been seen, grass was growing everywhere, and the road was not holding up well.  Luckily, there was a solution.  That’s why God invented the box blade.

If you are unfamiliar with that term, a box blade is an implement that hooks up to a tractor.  Its primary purpose is to spread material like soil and gravel, as well as smoothing and contouring land.  It is the perfect implement for maintaining a gravel road.

Each box blade comes with scarifiers, which are angled metal teeth that dig into the soil so it can be shaped for the operator’s purpose.

Saturday, seeing our gravel road in such bad shape, I attached the box blade to the tractor, lowered the scarifiers, and got to work.

In a few hours, what was a dilapidated, sad excuse for a gravel road looked like it has just been installed.  I was so proud of myself; I had Shannon look at it so she could tell me what a great job I had done.

Much like a road that is taken for granted eventually fails, so will our spiritual walks with Christ if we don’t perform regular maintenance. 

So if you want to keep your relationship with God to be as productive and fruitful as possible, your spiritual box blade is to become a person of prayer.

Prayer is what allows us to interact with the Holy in a sacred, fulfilling way.  This is where we not only present God with our petitions, we also share our hopes, successes, dreams, fears, failures, and sins with the only one who can make us whole and complete.  It is the regular maintenance that keeps us pointed in the right direction, gives us hope and peace, and most importantly, refreshes and rejuvenates our souls.

This is what Paul meant by saying, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  (1 Thessalonians  5:16-17)

So if you feel your spiritual life is a little worn and tired, the answer is to pray for God’s guidance, grace, wisdom, and peace.  I promise God will answer.  He always does.

Prayer:  Dear Gracious Heavenly God, there are times when my spiritual life needs maintenance.  Help me remember always to carve time out of my schedule to pray to you.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

While many see prayer as a waste of precious time, I see it as the most important thing a follower of Christ can ever do.  It matters.

Also, just for the record, Shannon wasn’t nearly as complimentary or adoring as she should have been when I showed her the gravel road.  I’m going to have to talk to her about that.  Pray for me!

I pray your day is filled with joy and laughter.
Tom Robbins