Suddenly the airplane cabin loses half its air. Everyone starts to gasp, struggling to breathe. In response, the little yellow cups and bags drop down at eye level as the pilot swiftly executes a controlled dive to get the people to a lower breathable altitude.
Would anyone refuse to put on the yellow mask, and then complain they weren’t getting any oxygen? Some Christians might. We do it all the time. We ask God to change us or our circumstances. Soon the Holy Spirit starts nudging us to obey in some new area. The two are connected. The oxygen mask is offered, but we can refuse to obey the stewardess’s instructions. If we won’t put on the mask, we won’t receive any extra oxygen. Simple—yet we miss it.
The Lord promised the Israelites that if they obeyed Him, they wouldn’t suffer any Egyptian diseases. His new laws instructed the people to abstain from certain foods and observe ritual cleansing, centuries before the discovery of microscopic germs, God’s divine laws protected His chosen people from disease—as long as they obeyed.
Obeying Jesus’ call to forgive our enemies contains hidden blessings too. During WWII, Corrie ten Boom aided the Jews and ended up in a German concentration camp. After the war, God prompted this amazing Christian woman to offer healing to people brutalized by the Nazis. She discovered those who forgave their enemies healed. Those who refused to forgive, remained emotional wrecks—life-long prisoners of their trauma.
Don’t refuse the oxygen mask when you struggle. If the Holy Spirit is convicting you, then maybe it’s God’s call to new levels of obedience. You will never lose if you obey. Put on your oxygen mask and breathe deeply.
(Photo courtesy of morguefile and typexnick.)
(For more devotions, visit us at www.christiandevotions.us.)
Maureen Hall Puccini writes devotions and posts weekly on her new blog, “The Faithful Wanderer” (http://www.thefaithfulwanderer.org). She enjoys illustrating spiritual truths by sharing about Victorian lamplighters, penguins, and personal snow skiing mishaps. She and her husband, Ralph, live in Raleigh, NC. Contact Maureen at mhpuccini@gmail.com.