For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14

I was getting quite frustrated and about to lose my Christianity… and all over a stupid sprayer! Wait… my wife tells me not to say the ‘stupid’ word’ as it is insulting to humans and inapplicable to things! But THIS THING seemed to have human traits! I couldn’t FIND it at first… like it was hiding on purpose!. Then when I FOUND it, it didn’t WORK! Which made my original task 2 additional steps away from accomplishment. This made me even MORE angry… which made me feel stupid!!!

Florida summer heat and humidity bring life to some unwanted things. Mold, mildew, bugs, and weeds are just a few. It isn’t wise to use the same sprayer to kill weeds, on plants to irradiate pests. So I have a couple sprayers to help me keep from killing what I want to live! After finding it, I filled the sprayer with an appropriate mixture, tried to pump it up but… NOTHIN’! It would not hold pressure. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Over time, the seals in sprayers can dry out or crack. This prohibits the sprayer from holding air pressure. A trick I learned years ago was to apply some oil to the offending seal, potentially stopping the leak. It worked!!! So after finding and fixing, I was free to finish the job I had started. Unfortunately, I carried along with me a big black mark on my soul and spirit! The pressure was building!

I have had too many let-downs like this lately. Stringing a bunch of them together, after a while, makes me feel ‘stupid.’ And ‘stupid’ is a satan word. The feeling it brings starts to take affect and eventually drys out my zeal for Jesus. When I feel unworthy because of too many failures, I begin to feel like I don’t deserve to reach out to my Savior. “WHY would He even WANT to come close to me… AGAIN!”

A symbol for the Holy Spirit is ‘Oil.’ Today He reminded me that MY failures are NOT the biggest stumbling block to my faith. It is walking away from God believing He is UNABLE or UNWILLING to restore my life. This belief is poison to my soul! An attempt to kill my relationship with the love of my heart.

Praying and receiving the Oil of His Spirit restores and enables me to take the pressures of life, becoming an effective tool in the Master’s hand. I am reminded by Him that He NEVER considers saints to be stupid! He doesn’t like that ‘S’ word either!