I have a 1975 Chevy Monte Carlo which I love dearly. I love driving classic cars but some months ago I started having problems. I was driving into work one morning and stopped at my favorite donut shop for coffee. When I got back into my car it wouldn't start and after a couple of tries I noticed smoke coming from the engine. I popped the hood and there was a small fire. At this point I'm in a panic! I run to the donut shop for a small cup of water, went back to the car and dashed the water onto the small fire. Then it dawned on me; "Stupid, water, oil, and fire don't mix well!" but it was too late. Thank God, the fire didn't get to much worse. I called my wife, told her what happened and called a tow truck to tow me to a gas station down the street from my workplace for repair.
Later that day, I went to check one progress of repairs as well as cost but unusually my car was ready for pick up. The mechanic told me that the solenoid to the starter was loose and was shooting high voltage to the engine and with the oil leak present it caused the fire. So they changed the starter (that's what he told me) and all was well, so I thought.
About a week later, I went to my car to go home early but my car wouldn't start. Amazing! I just spent $90 on repair work. So I went back to the mechanic and told him what was happening and he says; "It's your battery." He gave me a portable battery charger to jump start the car. I went back to my car, hooked the battery charger to the battery and what do you know my car did not start. By this time I'm furious. I just spent $90 a week earlier and my car still doesn't work. I go back to the mechanic and tell him; "Man, my car still doesn't start!" He says something to me that literally tempted me to speak in known tongues (yes, I wanted to cuss and he would have understood everything I said to him), he says; "It's your starter!" I reminded him that he just changed my starter one week earlier so it couldn't be my starter. He says; "I didn't change your starter, I changed the wires to your starter." I'm not that bright but it doesn't seem very smart to put new wires onto a bad starter.
I proceeded to leave to keep from having a prison ministry and he follows me out of the shop. I turn around and asked him politely to give me 5 feet. He says, "What do you mean?" I explained, "Take five steps back and let me leave." I get to my car and suddenly it starts. I needed to go to the bank to care of some business only to get back into the car and it wouldn't start again. I got out a wrench, tapped the starter and the car started and I went home.
I purchased a new starter and took it to a mechanic down the street from the church and all was well, so I thought. About a month later, my car wouldn't start, again! This time I decided to change it myself. When pulled off the starter, I noticed the solenoid was damaged because the mechanic down the street from the church did not remove a bar and jammed teh starter into place. I went back to AutoZone to exchange starter for a new one. I put the starter back on, hooked battery cables, turned the ignition, response no start. But after a couple of tries it finally started.
Over the next couple of weeks, I changed the battery because my car wouldn't start, again! After a new battery, a month later the car wouldn't start again. My brother, who is mechanic kept telling me over and over and over again that there is a bad connection somewhere but I know I connected everything back correctly. I opened the hood to unhook my batteries cables again to check my starter connections only to notice that my negative battery cable wasn't grounded properly because the mechanic down the street from my job did not hook the negative battery cable properly when they fixed my oil leak a few months earlier at $400. I purchased a new nut to ground the negative battery cable properly, problem solved.
After spending about $600, there was one problem that could have saved me about $150 and that was I needed the right connection to the battery. Of course, sermon bells started ringing because many of us in life experience trials, hardships, problems, struggles, and power failures because we don't have the right connection to the right power source, God.
In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul is struggling with God because he has a problem with a thorn in his flesh that God would not remove. After crying out to God to remove the thorn, God finally responds and says; "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Today, if you are reading this simple illustration and you're not connected to God, let me say: "Get Connected." Life's struggles don't stop but you can handle them a whole lot better when you're connected to the right power source.
Stay encouraged!
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