Frustrated by the Company Icemaker
Ice cubes are a wonderful invention. Until, that is, they rebelliously band together into a solid, rock-hard block.
It happened more than once.
At my old job, our kitchen icemaker usually dropped the individual ice cubes into a freezer bin. But occasionally, something went wrong. The ice cubes would melt and than refreeze into a solid block of ice.
Trying to chip off small chunks of ice required more patience than I possess. It was easier to dump the block of ice in the sink and wait for the icemaker to start dropping new cubes.
The ice block would melt away eventually.
But there was an easier way to break up this rock-hard, ice sculpture. Simply turn on the tap. The cold water drilled holes in the ice. Within a few minutes, it would melt completely.
Zero Faith
The Bible speaks of hearts hardened by sin and unbelief.
Sometimes we get discouraged when we pray for a loved one’s salvation, or for a Christian whose heart is hard in a certain area. Our mind whispers, “They’re never going to change—what’s the use of praying?” Despair drains us; it washes away our hope. Soon we don’t have the energy to keep praying.
It’s certainly happened to me.
Once, I was praying for a friend’s hard heart and suddenly stopped. Because I didn’t believe my own prayers. My faith tank was 100% empty. Stunned, I took it to God.. “Lord, I don’t have any faith for this situation—please help me.”
Immediately, the Lord gave me a mental image of cold water melting ice in a sink. That’s when I realized; my friend’s hard heart wasn’t made of stone. Instead it was covered in ice.
New faith for the situation flowed into me.
That’s the day I learned to always ask God for more, when my faith isn’t enough.
My Spiritual Point
I have faith that the Holy Spirit can melt an ice-encased heart, a heart that’s cold and indifferent to Him.
Does the Lord change people’s hearts? Yes, all the time. Redemption, salvation, repentance—God’s work on earth is all about changing human hearts. It’s His specialty.
So don’t despair if nothing seems to be happening. You can’t see it, but as you pray, the Holy Spirit’s life-giving water is flowing. The ice is cracking and starting to melt. The Lord is thawing and softening hearts.
All images are from Pixabay.com.
Resources:
“Hearts Like Ice” is republished with permission from the Christian Devotions website. Each day a different author’s devotion is featured, along with their image and bio. The editors actively encourage new writers to submit devotions. They also hold a Christian writer’s conference each February, in Asheville North Carolina..
Christiandevotions.us launched my writing career. Because they published the first devotion I ever wrote.
