Amazing How Well It Works When You Follow Instructions

I was standing in the shower at the cabin and I became very grateful for the hot shower after doing some construction outside (during which I had gotten very sweaty and dirty).

While standing there, I realized an important milestone: It had been at least twelve years since we had replaced the heating element in the water heater; something that we used to do every other year if not sooner.

The water heater is electric and generally takes less than three minutes after the electricity is turned on for the water to go from well-water cold to (almost) scalding hot. And over the years it has been a very faithful appliance.

But, for whatever reason, every spring when my father-in-law and I would open up the cabin, we would inevitably burn out the element and have to replace it.

Basically the problem happened due to user error. We would fire everything up BEFORE the water heater was completely filled with water; which we had drained when we closed up the cabin for the winter.

I am guessing we replaced at least ten elements before we decided to write down and follow instructions every spring.

Shortly after my father-in-law died, I decided that it would be prudent to write down instructions for how to open and close up the cabin. This way other family members would learn from our mistakes.

So, I assembled a "Maintenance Notebook" that would have all pertinent information; especially now that he had gone to heaven.

In the notebook, under the section "OPEN-ing the cabin for the Spring/Summer" I wrote in BOLD letters:

 "VERY IMPORTANT":

·  Confirm that the WATER HEATER breaker is turned off!

·  This will prevent burning out the element.

NOTE: Gene and Tom had to learn the hard way over several years.

·  ONLY AFTER THE WATER HEATER TANK IS CONFIRMED TO BE FULL OF WATER CAN YOU TURN ON THE BREAKER FOR THE WATER HEATER.

·  If these instructions are ignored, the water heater tank will need to be completely drained and then the element will need to be replaced.

Needless to say, this has proven to work because (to my knowledge) not once has the element had to be replaced over the past twelve years...

Or else my brothers-in-law who now open up the cabin each year may just be smarter than Gene and I were.

In other words, those who opened up the cabin each spring and closed it up each fall were successful when they followed the instructions…

And learned from others’ mistakes.

So how do we apply this truth to our everyday lives? Where is the “Instruction Manual” for our everyday lives?

I’m glad that you asked; or at least thought about asking…

The Bible is filled with pearls of wisdom written by men who had gleaned wisdom from their mistakes. Story after story has been written down to show what happens when instructions are followed.

And, story after story has been written down to show what happens when instructions are NOT followed.

One person who did this was King David. He wrote down instructions for his sons to follow so that they would learn from his mistakes and avoid them. 

David wrote in Psalm 1:

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

Simple instructions and yet none of David’s sons followed them.

And the results were that they, too, had their “elements burned out” because they didn’t do what they were instructed to do.

One of David’s sons, Solomon, after not following instructions and messing up, wrote down for his sons what he had learned from his mistakes. 

Solomon had at least one thousand women who were connected with him; and also had wealth beyond belief.

And yet it still wasn’t enough for him to be satisfied or to be happy.

Or to keep him from making the same mistakes.

So he wrote down wisdom that he received for the Holy Spirit so that others who came after him wouldn’t make the same mistakes. The Books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes were two of these books.

He concludes near the end of his life:

“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the difficult days come,
And the years draw near when you say,
“I have no pleasure in them”:

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:1, 13-14)

My friends, the Bible is full of great instruction that (when applied to our lives) can save us from burning out.

The Holy Spirit wants to breathe fresh life into the words written so very long ago so that they can be fresh truth and instructions for each and every day of our lives; not just spring and fall…

Where should you start?

Start by grabbing a Bible, sitting down, and ask the Holy Spirit to instruct you. 

When you first start reading the Bible it may not make complete sense to you; that is why you need to ask Him:

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

The Holy Spirit has been sent by the Father to help you understand the instructions. This is true for those who don’t yet know Him:

“And when He (the Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. (John 16:8-11) 

This is true for those who have already received Jesus as their Savior and have surrendered their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ:

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:12-16)

God wants to instruct us; He simply wants us to ask Him…

Because it is amazing how well it works when you follow the instructions.

Psalm 119 says;

“Your word I have hidden in my heart,

That I might not sin against You.”

All Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.