Just before leaving the house for the morning I made what I thought would be a quick trip to the basement. At the bottom of the stairs I heard a drip, drip, drip. “Oh, that can’t be good,” I thought.
It didn’t take long to identify the problem. A pipe that circulates the water for our in-floor heating had sprung a leak. I had been in this area less than 30 minutes before and everything was fine so this took me by surprise. I quickly found a bucket, mopped up the floor and said a prayer of thanks that this had been discovered before I left the house.
While waiting for a plumber that day I learned that even a pinhole opening in a pipe can disperse a lot of water. Drop by drop my bucket filled until it needed to be emptied. A large outdoor garbage can was brought in to hold the bucket and catch any overflow. The dripping didn’t stop until the main water line to the house had been turned off.
This was a powerful visual of what negative thoughts and ideas can do in my life. The first few are just drops in an empty bucket. A little doubt and disappointment here, some fear and anxiety there and soon these drops accumulate. It doesn’t take long for them to become a steady stream of negativity. Before I know it my bucket is full to overflowing. Then it spills out and affects those around me.
The only way to stop this is to turn it off at the source. When I take all of my concerns to God he is able to take the negativity away. Through my faith in him, he will allow it to be replaced with peace, joy and hope. Now those are things I’m happy to overflow with.
May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 GWT)