From The Bulletin

Stirred Up and Ready to Go

Car manufacturers have come along with producing worthy vehicles for the road. As a child, it was common to hear people talk to their cars, pleading with them to start. It was a sight to see and hear grown men speak sweetly to their vehicle, knowing they needed to get to work or be on time to meet a particular need. This was seen as the driver turning the crankshaft or cranking up their vehicle. When the car did not crank, it indicated something had gone wrong.

 The Apostle Paul told Timothy, “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (1 Timothy 1:6-7). We are not born again to be afraid; we are reborn to live lives worthy of living in which God is pleased. A well-lived life creates boldness that frees you to say what God has said about the matter with empathy, sternness, or joyfulness, whatever the situation may dictate. Revive, stir, and crank up your spirit within you and live.

 David prayed to God after he sinned with Bathsheba, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You” (Psalm 51:12-13). Sin will keep you down and rob you of your joy. For a man/woman with a conscious, it is difficult to smile and laugh while living with sin. Stir up what is within you and enjoy the life of the saved. David said that with this renewal, he would teach the transgressors, and others would be converted to God. That, no doubt, is a prayer that God will answer, for it is according to His will. “Now this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15).

 The vehicle that carries you to do the will of God is your body. It ok to ask yourself questions as you stir yourself up. “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me” (Psalm 42:5)? Never neglect to talk to your God. Without God, your turning and cranking will be in vain; nothing will start. God will meet your needs and get you where you need to be.

© 15 October, 2022 Courtney Henderson