Ezekiel 11:19-20 – And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (ESV)

Recently, we have enjoyed the blessings of taking the family and the caravan (travel trailer) to the nearby Cotswold Wildlife Park to see the rhinos, flamingos, etc. We have been promising this for a number of years, so finally, we did it before the children were too old to care.

I have a motorized caravan-mover that contacts the wheels of the caravan using a lever, and moves the caravan about without the aid of a car. It saves me from a heart attack from over-exerting myself manually handling it.

When we were ready to go home, the caravan mover lost power after several attempts to hitch up to the car on a slope, and I thought, "Really?" I braced myself and manually pivoted the caravan around forty-five degrees to make it easier to reverse the car up to it. Then, I thought that I would give the mover one last try, and, praise God, it worked enough to get hitched up. Phew! I was saved from running after the caravan down the slope.

The battery had lost its ability to hold enough charge for motor moving. There was enough power for lights, but not sufficient power for the mover to turn the wheels. Grrr! I would have to buy a new dual-purpose battery that would light the lights and also have the capacity to dig deep and impart the power to the motor when needed.

As I drove home, I realized that God was at it again, raising my mindfulness of our relationship. Like the battery, my heart for His work had become tired over time, but when it is refreshed and renewed, it works fine.

Since then, God has been ministering to my inner being, removing the old, tired acceptance of routine and indifference, safe in my hidey hole away from the world. In its place, the Holy Spirit is embedding an anticipation of discerning something of God's move in me and stirring up my expectancy to deliver on what I am asked to do.

This is both provoking and challenging at the same time: to be obedient to my calling, and yet not to get off-track, prideful, fearful, or self-obsessed either — tricky!

In the past, through the learning process, I sensed that I have occasionally left Jesus smiling and saying, "Really, Rod! I love the passion, but this is more than I said or want! Come back to where I am, to what I am doing, to what I actually said." God is gracious and patient.

During worship services, I make an effort to invite Jesus into my being, and to rejoice and dwell in His presence, empowering me to receive whatever revelation He has for that day and to do what is needed as a part of His kingdom.

If we are cooperative, God is moving today to give renewed hearts for old and to flow through us more powerfully to increase faith, to remove blockages, to transform lives, to open the eyes of the blind, and to increase the power of His presence in us to expect more!

Prayer: Lord, we ask for grace and refreshing to be more loving and wise. As witnesses of the Good News in, through, and for the name of Jesus, we ask for expectancy, boldness, peace, and clarity to know what to say and do. Amen.

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About the author:

Rod Marshall <roderickhenrymarshall@gmail.com>
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
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