A few days ago we took our van into the dealership for a new timing belt!!! Yes, I'm excited! Timing belts, though the parts aren't that expensive...the labor is and the consequences of one blowing can cause major engine damage. It's one of those things that takes a lot of money to fix, and you don't actually see any improvement. You don't walk out to your car and say, "Now that is a sharp timing belt!!!"
First, we have a friend who works at the local dealership and knowing we were planning on driving a lot this summer, our friend took the extra few minutes to look up the maintenance history of our vehicle. Since we bought it used all we really knew was it had not been wrecked. After a routine oil change, our friend told us, everything looked good, although the timing belt had never been changed and was about 50,000 miles overdue. We thought we needed to get this done...and somewhat expeditiously too.
So, we got a quote. $400. UGH! Really! $400 for a belt change. It's one of those things that is SO necessary. If your timing belt blows, so can your engine...and a new engine...UGH!! Yet again, you don't see any benefit. It's not like getting new tires, where at least you get to see how shiny they are and all that nice new tread so when you look at them it makes you feel somewhat better about spending all that cash.
Now, our friend said it looked in decent condition and we could drive our van throughout the summer, and it should be fine. Should be. Not sure that we want to risk blowing our engine over a $400 repair.
Knowing that expense was coming, I started praying. We had the money set aside...but I was asking the Lord for a miracle as we prepared to spend that money. We try to set aside money for larger expenses in advance, and though we knew the timing belt was coming, we thought we had another 20,000 miles before it would need a second one...needless to say when we found out it never had been changed we knew it was a priority. So, one morning as I was specifically praying for this situation, that afternoon I opened the mailbox to find an "Escrow overage" check.
Really Lord? Yes...I cried tears of thankfulness!
I mean, we are so undeserving of His abundant provision and grace.
So my sweet husband, who always takes care of me, took the van in and got the timing belt replaced. When he picked it up, it was $108 less than what we had been quoted. Really....at the dealership? Praise the Lord!
I drove the van home, and I thought about this simple timing belt and the Lord's provision, and how even though the timing belt was an unseen by most...it was a top priority...the consequences of ignoring the problem were too great.
It's just like our relationship with the Lord. We can choose to ignore His voice, His soft whisper drawing our hearts to Him through His word. We can rationalize that we don't have time to spend in His word daily, or no time to pray....afterall....no one really knows. It's not like if you overeat all the time and you become overweight....everyone can actually see that. And we don't want to look bad to others do we? Or if we roll out of bed and don't fix our hair...people can see how crazy our bedhead really is.
But remember, the Lord He looks at our hearts, not our attempts to appear righteous or "all together" for others. ..."But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
The Lord was speaking so gently to me this week. My quiet times, and my prayer times need a fresh breath of His Spirit. I need to start afresh. I need to change my approach. Because the lackluster prayers...just don't cut it. And the bottom line...the Lord Himself has not changed.
The beauty of the Lord is that, the more of Him that we pour into ourselves....the more of Him that comes out.. "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person." Matthew 15:18. If frustration and irritability are always coming out of my mouth as a first response...it's clear that those things have slowly crept in and crowded out the precious and living word of God that I know He has over the years hidden in my heart. It's my responsibility to rely on the Lord to guide me each day....and that sounds so simplistic so "pie in the sky" and yet if we dig into His word, we will see...that's what He is asking of us. To simply trust, and rely on Him.
I love this in John 7:38, " Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
I want that living water to flow like a rushing river out of my heart that my kids will be blessed and my husband will be blessed and I can minister to those who need Him for God's glory. The consequences of ignoring our heart condition is just too great. We must tend to our hearts as a top priority in our Christian life. We need for our hearts to be pure before Him and in step with Him that we would bless others for His glory each day!
It's often a small amount of time....maybe an hour a day...and yet we find excuses. So...set the alarm...make an "appointment" prioritize your relationship with Him...not out of legalism...or a checklist...simply because you want to know this great God, the One who willingly gave up His own Son so that we would be saved by believing in Him. Let's know Him y'all...so that we can make Him known!!
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