A Slow Leak
“Above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are.
Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life. “ Proverbs 4:23 TPT
Many childhood days were filled with pedaling my bike all over my neighborhood as if I had important business to carry on there. When it was time to go home for dinner and homework I would park the bike under the garage. The next day when I arrived home from school, there it sat with a slightly flat tire. I was hopeful that it would carry me one more day but my guess was wrong. Now I was stuck at my friend’s house and had to walk home quickly pushing the disabled bike and hoping to not miss my curfew. Night after night I would forget to tell my Daddy until it was too late. I learned to use the tire pump and get just enough air in it to carry me around one more day. It lasted for the afternoon ride with the neighborhood kids, but somehow during the night there was a slow leak resulting in another afternoon of disappointment. I continued this routine for several days until the weekend arrived and my daddy repaired it. Sure enough there was a tiny hole in the inner tube and a quick patch took care of it.
Sometimes there is a slow leak in my soul. There is an ache, a worry, a deep concern, but I just keep riding through daily life hoping it will go away. But it never repairs itself. It might be worry, unbelief or hidden sin. Air escapes my spirit with each disobedience leading to flat line living. A judgmental spirit will deflate me quickly and unforgiveness sets me up with a bitter heart and a pending blow out.
We usually ignore and accept a slow leak because it doesn’t seem to have monumental impact, but it leads to frustrated living that robs us of the joy of abundant life. We move at a fast pace intending to get to the heart repair, but that day turns into months and sometimes years down the road. We learn to pump ourselves up enough to ride through another day, but the next day is the same as before. We read a quick devotion or press play to a song that lifts our spirits, but suddenly there we sit like a bike with a flat tire.
What is the answer to this deflating ritual of living?
The slow leak requires an intentional pause asking the Father to search my heart and show me where the leak is coming from. What is going on in our hearts matters. The key verse tells us to “watch over our heart” because all of life flows out of it.
It is work to know our inner selves. Holy Spirit comes to reveal what is hidden to us because nothing is hidden from God. (Hebrews 4:13) He longs to reveal the leaks in our heart and bring healing and wholeness. It is not His plan for us to just get through one more day, but to live full of His Spirit.
If your days are filled with frustration and disappointment, you too may have a slow leak. Let the Father take a look into your heart and reveal to you what the source is. He will repair it and put your feet back on the path of abundant living.
“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.” Proverbs 21:2