A couple of days ago I learned a secret.  Let me set the scene for you and make a few applications to life….

Several pieces of lawn equipment decided not to start this season.  They had been unused since last summer.  I wheeled them out of the shed expecting to splash fuel in the dry tank, give a few pulls, and then be off and working.

When the mower wouldn’t start I tinkered with it a bit and realized it wasn’t getting fuel.  I determined that the issue was in the carburetor.  If you’re not familiar with small engines, the carburetor is the lungs of the engine.  It is where fuel and air are combined into a combustible form that the spark plug ignites and fires the engine.  No fuel in the carb = no go.

I went to our local hardware store and talked to the guy at the service counter who has been there for years.  He knew exactly the type of motor I was dealing with and told me how to fix it.  When the fuel in this style of carburetor evaporates, deposits and debris in the fuel system plug little holes in the bottom of the carburetor that send fuel into the motor.  He told me to take that part out and use a twisty-tie (with the paper stripped off) to poke the debris out of the holes.  His suggestion took just a few minutes, cost nothing, and did the trick!

A powerful engine that helps me accomplish a lot of work was shut down by a bit of gunk that was easily poked away by a tiny piece of metal wire.  That will teach me to be careless about the cleanliness of the fuel I put into the lawn equipment.  Over the last few days I used that trick on a mower, wheeled trimmer, and yard vac that had all stopped working and all three are now good to go.

In our lives I think we can also find ourselves blocked.  Many people have experienced the pain and fear of blockages in their physical heart.  As traumatic as that is, I think a blockage in our spiritual heart can have even longer lasting implications.

We must think about the things that we fuel our heart and mind with.  We may run along just fine in life as we are putting contaminated things (entertainment with inappropriate content for example) into our lives.  But eventually that will catch up to us.  We will find that our spirit has become blocked and we are no longer able to do the things that God created us be busy doing.

The solution to our blockage is as simple as the twisty-tie I used to unclog that contaminated jet.  When we read our Bible, pray, and do good for others we are working to remove the blockage that has built up in our spirit.  It isn’t rocket science and it doesn’t require amazing effort, it just needs to be done with thought and purpose.

We were created as powerful and gifted people to do good things while on this earth.  When we allow God to remove the blockages in our life, our power is restored and we can return to doing the things that we were purposed to do.

Speaking of contaminated lives…our study of the life of Joseph had progressed to the point where his brothers are paying the price for the bad decisions they have made in life.  I hope you enjoy Dinnertime Devotional 22  >>> Dinnertime Devotionals 22