Check the Source

I untethered my Macbook Air from its adapter wall cord with the familiar confidence of one who follows the same routine every morning. I pressed start and waited for WiFi to connect and Safari to open. My not so patient eyes wandered to the battery power indicator. 8%. How could that be?

Right before deactivating the bacteria on my teeth and recharging the aging cells on my face, I had connected my laptop to its power adapter. It is a nightly ritual, and I confidently expect a full charge that will take me through an on-the-go day. An irritating battery failure with a previous computer has left me averse to sitting on hard floors during long meetings just to be close to an outlet.

Then I found it. At the opposite end of the cord attached to my computer, the adapter had become disconnected for the electrical outlet.  The failure to charge occurred at the source.

The incident reminded me of the importance of checking the sources for the power I seek in my own life. How often I have embraced a new school of thought with the fond hope it would produce a greater effectiveness, only to discover it failed to deliver. Then there are the books I have read and the people to whom I have listened, most with unsatisfactory results.

In life, as in electricity, it is crucial to verify the source.

For me that source of power is God himself, offered in extravagant measure through his son Jesus.

The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]! (Habakkuk 3:19 Amplified Bible)