Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
One little light. That's all it took to render our car totally unusable. The little light in the rear of our vehicle was left on one night after we unloaded some things, and it stayed on for several days while we were gone. When we got back, everything in that car said, "I'm not starting, pal!" because that one little light totally drained our battery, of course. But then came the hero - our friend in his pickup truck with his trusty jumper cables. And those cables delivered the energy that my flat old battery needed to run again!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "Human Jumper Cables."
What does it take to get a drained and tired battery going again? A jolt from jumper cables that infuses the energy needed to revive it. And what does it take to get a drained and tired person going again? Human jumper cables that deliver new energy to revive them.
I'm guessing that you know someone right now who is pretty depleted - emotionally, mentally, maybe spiritually, even physically. When they turn the key, not much is happening because their battles, their responsibilities have left them unable to get going again. That's why God has given us each other. To be jumper cables for each other when we sense that someone we know is pretty run down. If you've got your eyes open for them, you'll see someone in need of an emotional and spiritual "jump" most every day of your life.
There's a wonderful example of that in 2 Timothy 1:16-17, our word for today from the Word of God. This is the last letter Paul ever wrote. He's away from most of his friends, he's locked up in Caesar's prison in Rome, and he knows he may never leave there alive. And in fact, he won't. Then along comes an unsung hero named Onesiphorus, and he is God's jumper cables to help the great apostle find the energy to go on. Listen to Paul's testimony and think about how you can be this for someone you know: "May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains...When he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me."
When you're one of God's jump starters, you wake up in the morning and you say, "Lord, show me who needs me today." Then you look for, even go out of your way if necessary, to call that person who needs encouragement, to write them, e-mail them, visit with them, or just stop and take time with them. It's almost always a sacrifice to do that because of all the things you have to do. But you may have nothing more important to do than this extension of Jesus' love to someone who's really depleted. Your joy can jump start theirs. Your praying in faith can jump start theirs. Your affirmation of their value and their significance can jump start them believing it again themselves. Your belief in them can re-energize their courage to get back in the ring for another round. Your reminder of who they really are to God and to you may be just the spiritual jolt they need to get going again.
You may say, "Yeah, well, I need someone to jump start me!" You're thinking a lot lately about your burdens, your problems, and your feelings. The greatest way to get out of your pit is to reach out and help someone else get out of theirs. Proverbs 11:25 says: "He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."
You have what someone needs today to get started again. Don't just cruise on by, oblivious to the needs right in front of you. "Lord, show me who needs me today." That's the prayer that will make you the conduit to deliver the resources of God to someone who really can't go on without them. You are God’s jumper cables!