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Grace was in a hurry. She had just returned from the ward a few minutes past 3 p.m. and was preparing to head out again for a tutorial scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Her phone’s battery was on 2% and needed urgent resuscitation, but her charger was nowhere in sight.
“This is one thing I dislike about iPhones–their batteries are weak,” she mumbled as she fumbled through her bag, where she thought she had kept the charger. She had no time to fuss over her phone’s palaver; time was against her, and she still hadn’t found the charger. Thankfully, she spotted it on her roommate’s bed. On sighting it, she immediately plugged it into the socket, connected it to her phone, and dashed out of the room.
She couldn’t afford to be Prof. Kofoworola’s scapegoat. Luckily for her, she entered the class a few minutes before the professor arrived and shut the door.
The lecture lasted for three full hours; It was so interesting that two-thirds of the class seriously battled with sleep. Prof. seemed more concerned about flexing his ‘knowledge’ muscles before his famished students who probably had their blood glucose levels beckoning at hypoglycemia. The ambiguity of the terms he used was another hammer that drove the nail of drowsiness deeper into their fatigued bodies. Had it not been for the sake of signing the attendance booklet….
Unperturbed, Prof. continued his lecture until his time was over.
“Any questions?” Prof. asked after the lecture as he packed his laptop into its bag. He asked with a tone that could have discouraged any inquisitive student. It was obvious that he only asked to fulfill all righteousness. However, he was visibly disappointed when Grace raised her hand.
Somehow, Grace had managed to stay awake because the topic aligned with her research interest. She had even taken notes when others barely brought out their notes. She was running on the last ounce of glucose in her.
“Yes. Go ahead and ask, young lady” Prof said as he stared at her with his ‘ four eyes.’
Grace stood and asked her question.
“Go and check it on UpToDate and be updated,” was Prof’s blunt response to her question.
Instantly, the once-drowsy class became enlivened and erupted in a rib-cracking laughter. That was the last straw that broke the camel’s back for Grace. She was so exhausted and hungry, and now, discouragement has been added to the list.
After the class, the first person Grace wanted to talk to was her mum, but her phone was in the hostel. So, she rushed back just as hurriedly as she had left earlier. Two of Grace’s coping mechanisms in school were prayers and dialogue with her mum.
To Grace, Her mum was God’s angel sent to her so she hardly not speak with her mum daily.
On entering her room, she was disappointed to discover that her phone hadn’t charged, even though there was power supply.
“A good 3 hours wasted!”
While wondering whether there had been a technical issue somewhere, her gaze drifted to the socket’s switch.
It was off.
” Oh my!” , she exclaimed.
She was deeply disappointed because she badly needed her phone at that time, but there was nothing she could do.
In that moment of disappointment, God used the situation to draw her attention to a very cogent issue.
He made her understand how insufficient it was to simply plug in her phone without turning on the switch—and He likened it to the spiritual state of many Christians. He showed her that many christians are like her “dead” phone—plugged into religious activities but never turning on the switch of obedience to God’s Word.
They have been deceived into thinking that being deeply involved in religious routines automatically means they are spiritually alive.
When the switch of obedience to God’s words for our lives is off, we cannot profit from the abundant life that Christ gives.
vicky
At that moment, Grace took an inventory of her spiritual state. She realized she had been as busy as a bee with church, academic and several extracurricular activities, and her quiet time with God was fizzling out.
Her Christian comportment had begun to wane. She had thought that as long as she was regular on service days and participated fully in church activities, she will be spiritually fine. However, that was not the case. Nothing was fine about her spiritual health.
She knew the message was meant for her, so she sincerely addressed the condition before God..
No matter how long her phone remained plugged in, it would never charge unless the switch was turned on. Likewise, no matter how long a person engages in religious activities, if such person has not displayed humility in obeying God fully and sincerely, the life of Christ will not flow through such person’s life.This, He explained, is one of the reasons many professing Christians are spiritually dry and close to burning out, despite their active participation in church programs..
Dear Friends, It is not enough to stay plugged into a church denomination or activity;When the switch of obedience to God’s words for our lives is off, we cannot profit from the abundant life that Christ gives. The river of life cannot flow into and through us to not only refresh our inner being, but also those around us.
It is high time we turned on that switch, not just by asking for God’s grace to be totally obedient to Him in all things but by utilizing the grace given in our actions..
After receiving His Grace, we must painstakingly ensure to keep ourselves in that posture of perfect obedience to God in all things, just like Jesus Christ, who is our perfect example, did.
While church activities are very great, we shouldn’t prioritize it over personal obedience to God’s instructions. To God, the beloved ones are not necessarily the most active but the most obedient. We shouldn’t forget that it is only when our hearts are right before God that our services can be fully acceptable and rewarded.
May God bless us with hearts that yearn to be obedient to Him always. Amen.
God bless you.
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