I went to turn the key just like I did before and nothing. All I heard was a beep but no ignition. After a couple of times of turning the ignition and just hearing a beep, the engine would not turn over. I tried jiggling the emergency kill switch thinking the key was not making contact but it still would not turn on. There we were, dead in the water. My three boys, my father and I. We weren’t far from land but also not that close.
I assumed the battery had discharged enough to not give us enough cranking amps so we then tried to manually crank the engine but again, no dice. Finally, I suggested we use the trolling motor to limp back home. Slowly and surely we did. It took us about 45 minutes to make it back to the marina. We loaded her up and went home. We were all grateful we made it back.
When we arrived home and I started to wash down the boat and needed to run the engine. This time with patience, I went back to the key and noticed the screw that holds the ignition safety switch was loose. You could barley see it. I tightened it back up, inserted the key and turned the ignition. Started right up!
This reminds me of our walk as men. We always assume it’s the big things that will get us. Drinking, greed, porn, lust, etc. But what really gets us is the slow but little loosening of our spiritual disciplines. The daily reading and meditating on the word and prayer. We’re always running off and neglecting these only to later find ourselves dead in the spiritual waters of our lives. We’ve got the key, now we just need to tighten up our spiritual disciplines to crank up and go!
Encouragement:
Our continually strength comes from the Lord. Isaiah 40:29-31 teaches us that those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint”.
Challenge:
What can you start today to help you stay committed to prayer and reading the Word?
