19th May 2015

I heard one of those car breakdown tales recently about a driver who was trying to add oil to the engine through the dipstick tube. I’m not sure how he got on, but I can certainly imagine the scene and the language that was reverberating around the engine bay.

The dipstick is a helpful diagnostic device, reaching deep into the engine, and retrieving critical information. Too little oil, and the engine that seems to purr on the outside, can be dying on the inside. But when the levels are right, the engine can better handle the long trips and those times of red-lining.

The Book says that one of those gracious ministries of the Spirit is to keep our vitals topped up. For much of his ministry, the Spirit works monergistically, for his own glory and for our great good, without our contribution and without enlisting our help. But sometimes his work is done synergistically, drawing us to engage with those means of grace like reading the Book, and journeying closely with other pilgrims, and raising our prayers, and giving ourselves to meaningful service. And it is this latter dynamic that affords us a dipstick to the soul.

The Book sums it up well: “Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” There’s the synergy. Our part is to wait upon him. His part to renew. And those who do, give testimony to finding sufficient strength. Those who don’t, find their engine grinding.

DM 19^th May 2015