An incident happened last week as I was scraping ice off of my wife's car window one morning. I shared it as the daily devotional that day on the church website. However, since we are heading into the time of year that ice scraping happens for many of us I thought it might be timely to share here as well. Hope it speaks to your heart. The original devotional now follows.........
It's that time of year again! Scraping the ice/snow off of the windshield is part of the season.
As I was scraping the ice off of a windshield this morning a thought came up in my heart. We are a lot like those windows and in great need of God taking a Holy Spirit ice scraper to our hearts. It seems to me that the issues of ice on windshields, or hearts, are the same in a couple ways-
1- The coldness of our hearts will keep us from seeing out clearly just as an iced windshield does. We can't see others, or our world, accurately with our hearts cold and covered with ice before God.
2. Others can't see inside a car with ice covered windows. In the same way people can't see the beauty God has placed within us if is obscured by an icy view on life.
The answer in both cases is to scrape the windows and turn on the heater! We understand that in the natural deicing of a car. However, it is just as applicable to our lives spiritually! We need God to scrape the hardness, cold, and ice out of our lives and turn on the heat of His love and presence!
Father, I pray that you would scrape the ice from our hearts and lives. Remove the coldness and callousness from us. Father stoke the fire of your Spirit within our hearts. Give us hearts burning with love for you, compassion for others, and zeal to fulfill you call!
Every time you scrape a window this winter stop and consider.... am I letting God scrape my life clean of the bitterness, cold, and ice also. Let's ask ourselves, " Am I letting the fire and heat of His presence keep me free from my eyes on life being iced over"?
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28-29 NIV