As we age our bodies start to fall apart. The healthier we choose to live the longer parts of our body stay healthy. But then the time comes where we may need glasses or our hearing starts to go.
A little over a year ago I had a physical and they found that in one of my ears they could not see my eardrum. They tried to get the wax out but they could not. They told me to buy some over the counter drops to put in my ear to soften it up so that I could get it out. I tried but finally gave up and just went on with life.
A couple of months ago I was having trouble with my ear so I decided to get some of the “earwax removal candles”. The burning, hollow candle creates a vacuum, softens the wax making it possible to remove. They do work. I think I did it three times and was getting more wax every time.
Later I went to the doctor for something else and they check the ear and it still had some wax in it so they were, at that point able to get out the last bit. I cannot believe how much I had in there and it is shocking that I could even hear.
My daughter and I were just reading this in her science the other day. It was talking about how that wax buildup can keep you from hearing. So if you are having a hearing problem start by seeing your doctor to see if there is some wax keeping you from hearing.
You might be thinking, “Why in the world is she talking about such a gross thing?” The illustration that I gained from all of this is worth it all to me. It was quite an eye-opening thought.
The wax is just like sin in our lives. As we do one thing, that we don’t really think to be that bad, it always leads to another and another. And pretty soon we have a build up of sin. With each layer of build up it is harder and harder to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. And pretty soon we don’t hear Him at all.
We need some “sin removal candles”. God’s Word is like the candle. It is a light that shines and burns in our hearts. As we allow God to place that “candle tip” into our spiritual ear, He will light it. As the “Candle” (God’s Word) burns it will create a vacuum that will draw the sin from our lives. When the sin is extracted we will start again to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.
When you want to remove wax from your ear with a “earwax removal candle” you have to have help. It would be dangerous and destructive to do it on your own. The same is true when using the “sin removal candle”. You need to have the help of God or it will be dangerous and destructive. We need to cooperate with God in the process.
God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet. It is a fire that refines our character by taking away the dross and making us pure as gold. As we read God’s Word it is like a vacuum, it softens our hearts, and makes it possible for God to remove the sin in our lives.
Just like you can use the “earwax removal candle” in a wrong way or have wrong expectation for the results, you can also use God’s Word in a wrong way and have wrong expectations. If you mechanically start reading God’s Word without an open mind to change, expecting some magical miracle, it is not going to happen. We need to go into God’s Word with a cooperative spirit knowing that it is through the power of the Holy Spirit, as we allow Him to work, that our lives will be changed.
Dear Father,
I pray that each of us will allow You to do the work in our lives that will prepare us for Your soon coming so that we can go home and live with You.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Surrender all to Him today and let Him soften your heart through His Word, so that He can remove the “wax” of sin from your life.
What has the Lord used in your life that has helped softened your hard heart?