Trimming the Lamp
I love it when the Lord talks to me on the way to work. Sometimes, I may not be happy with the method, but he knows what I need to hear. He knows what size brick is needed to wake me up.
I don't know about you, but yesterday's drive to work was kind of dismal. It was dark. The roads were wet in some areas and slushy in others. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike driving in the dark? I have I ever hinted that driving when visibility is poor does not flip my lid for a fun thing to do? Can you guess how I feel about driving with both conditions at the same time?
Well, that was my drive to work yesterday. I was rushed. I was tired. The conditions were not the most pleasant. Put that all together and I was trying to carry on a conversation with the Lord while doing it. Oh, did I mention that the left head light on my car decided to take a break and burned out.
At one point, I found myself just following the car in front of me. I could see some of the lines painted on the road, but there were points that I was not sure which lane I was in. I decided to play it safe and just follow the cars that seemed to be going the same general direction I was going. Unfortunately, I found myself in a turn lane that I did not want to be in and was forced to take the turn. The detour was my wake up call.
I was beating myself up for doing such a thing when the Lord started talking. He told me to settled down and listen. My lamp light was low. I was relying on someone else's lamp light to get me where I wanted to go. When I did this, I learned that I was going to end up some place other than my destination.
I wondered how many of the virgins who did not trim their lamps did the same thing. Did they hope that they could get to the right wedding party if they just followed the person in front of them? How many found them following a local villager instead of the wedding party?
I began to wonder how many of us, myself included, are doing the same thing? Are we trimming our lamps? Are we making sure we are walking by our own light and not someone else's? Do we have sufficient oil to get us where we want to go?
I learned. I listened. Now I need to do it.
I don't know about you, but yesterday's drive to work was kind of dismal. It was dark. The roads were wet in some areas and slushy in others. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike driving in the dark? I have I ever hinted that driving when visibility is poor does not flip my lid for a fun thing to do? Can you guess how I feel about driving with both conditions at the same time?
Well, that was my drive to work yesterday. I was rushed. I was tired. The conditions were not the most pleasant. Put that all together and I was trying to carry on a conversation with the Lord while doing it. Oh, did I mention that the left head light on my car decided to take a break and burned out.
At one point, I found myself just following the car in front of me. I could see some of the lines painted on the road, but there were points that I was not sure which lane I was in. I decided to play it safe and just follow the cars that seemed to be going the same general direction I was going. Unfortunately, I found myself in a turn lane that I did not want to be in and was forced to take the turn. The detour was my wake up call.
I was beating myself up for doing such a thing when the Lord started talking. He told me to settled down and listen. My lamp light was low. I was relying on someone else's lamp light to get me where I wanted to go. When I did this, I learned that I was going to end up some place other than my destination.
I wondered how many of the virgins who did not trim their lamps did the same thing. Did they hope that they could get to the right wedding party if they just followed the person in front of them? How many found them following a local villager instead of the wedding party?
I began to wonder how many of us, myself included, are doing the same thing? Are we trimming our lamps? Are we making sure we are walking by our own light and not someone else's? Do we have sufficient oil to get us where we want to go?
I learned. I listened. Now I need to do it.
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