The cause of all the frigid cold shoulder from the furnace? The filter was so full it shut down the furnace. Now how embarassing was that. And to make it worse, ours is a newer type furnace that does not have a pilot light you light. (No wonder I couldn't find it!) It has an electronic starter. And because the filter was so plugged, the limiter just heaved a sigh and said "I refuse to overwork and I might be broken now". But it wasn't. Mr. Gas Man gave him a good rap on his top and it started to work again. He cleaned a few parts so he wouldn't have to come back for a couple years, and with a cheery "So Long" he was gone. Just like that.
And as I thought about the whole incident, I thought, my heart is sorta like that old filter. If I don't check on it on a regular basis and make sure it is clean, it can get all clogged up just like the furnace filter. Not with house dust, but with stuff that makes my relationship with the Lord and others chug and shut down. Things like bitterness, anger, jealousy, covetousness, resentment, idolatry, apathy. Just to name a few.
I need to get in there with the Holy Spirit and just clean that heart out so that the fire of the Lord can burn in my heart, bright and clear, and the warmth of that will generate out of my life to touch others for the Lord.
"Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You."
Psalm 51:10 - 13
"""
Photo Credit: hagit M., Israel
Photo Credit: hagit M., Israel
20 comments:
Yeah!!! : ) Heat! I'm so glad for you!
I love what you said about the heart--so true.
Have a blessed day,Susanne!
Kim
One of the things I learned to do was change the filter myself. Rob couldn't do it with one arm. I've found if we don't put a new filter in pretty often, the whole house gets dirty and dusty.
I love the way you tied that lesson in with your devotional. :-)
I'm glad your house is warm Susanne and the furnace is fixed!
I too loved what you wrote about the heart, very good. It warmed my heart!
Boy can I relate to the coldness. I'm so glad he got there in the nick of time for the little ones. And yes, if I don't cloister myself regularly and ask the Spirit about my heart-filter, I get into trouble. And isn't it great that the Father gets to us just at the right time, too. Good reminder.
Yes. A clean heart will give us a stronger flame. Great thoughts.
I'm glad that they were quick about it.
That is a perfect analogy Susanne. I can think of other things that clutter my heart - like the things that draw me away from spending time with Him. I had to confess that one this morning. I love the analogy of a brightly burning flame.
I'm glad you're all cozy and warm again.
Boy, I'm so glad you have you heat back. We were just studying in school today how cold it is in your parts today. Bbrrrr!
Absolutely.loved!! how you connected the lesson of your furnace to our spiritual walk. Well done and thanks!
Man I needed this..thanks...
That's wonderful that your heat got fixed so quickly! We had to have our furnace replaced in the middle of winter last year - boy, that was stressful. And the rest of your post was SO beautiful!
Thanks for the encouraging words today!
I love how you take everyday things and find a lesson in there- one we can all use and learn.
Glad you are warm again!
I love reading your analogy, beautiful.
Glad it was fixed so quickly! Cold is miserable! And wonderful word picture to match the story!
So happy everyone is toasty warm and that it didn't cost you a bundle to fix!!! Whew!
wow that was fast turning up and fising your problem
love that psalm
pleased your all warm again
I'm so glad you didn't suffer in the cold for long. What a blessing. I love the way you turned your experience into a beautiful word about our spiritual walk. Just beautiful!
Our furnace guy was here about two weeks ago, on a Saturday with lovely time and a half wages, and there was no part broken. That would have been under warranty, just something not working, so $195 later it was fixed. But he did say, "Now I'm not one to nag but your filter needs changed." I finally did, two days ago, $40 for a filter, and I wrote the date on it so I'd remember this time. But your whole point of filtering our lives, our hearts - great one I'll remember.
Ooo . . . such a great analogy, Susanne. Loved it!
Thank goodness you are warm again.
Happy Valentine's Day, Darlin'!
Thank you for your prayers.
Wow Susanne, what a great analogy. I loved how you tied your experience to our needed to filter our hearts. Really true.
on a practical side, I am glad you and the kids aren't cold anymore.
Don't you love how God can use the everyday events of our everyday lives to teach us something about ourselves...and about Him?
That's funny it was only the filter. I can say it's funny because something similiar happened to us when our air conditioner quit in the heat of summer. We called, the man came, asked if I'd checked the breaker, well, no I hadn't, so he goes in the garage, flips the breaker back on, and charged me for a service call!
I now know to check the breaker box FIRST thing...
What a wonderful post, Susanne! :)
Post a Comment