During the summer of 2006, my husband and I took on the task of re-sealing our deck, along with the many posts and all the stairs that lead up to it on the second floor. We chose to use clear sealer, so we had to pay close attention to where we started and stopped painting, in order to know what was yet to be done. Tom commented more than once that he hoped this sealer was doing something, because he sure couldn’t see any difference where he had painted. At one point, he implied that it might not be working because he didn’t understand how it could. My reply was, “You don’t have to understand how it works. Just apply it.”
The Holy Spirit immediately began to open my eyes to the spiritual meaning of what I had just spoken. How many things in our Christian walk work this way? We don’t understand how a Bible principle could possibly work, so we don’t even try it. We turn away from the possibility that, at the right time, what was only working in the spirit realm, the invisible, as we simply obeyed the Word, would be made visible to us, and our lives would be forever changed for His glory. We choose to walk by sight, not faith.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].” AMP
Ours is not to understand it all with our natural minds, but to live a life of faith. We are simply to apply the “sealer,” the Word of God, according to the instructions, and leave the results to Him. When we applied the deck sealer, we couldn’t see that it had done anything; that is, until it rained. Then, our faith became sight as the water beaded up, unable to penetrate the wood any longer.
As I wrote this in my journal, the Lord gave me a practical example from the Bible – forgiving. How is it that I am set free inside when I make the choice to forgive someone who has hurt me and made no attempt to make things right? This doesn’t make sense to my natural mind, yet it still works this way. If I will simply receive God’s Word (Christ,) allowing Him into every part of my life, I will see, in time, His righteousness revealed through me.
Fast forward to the present . . . One of the things my husband and I have on our to-do list this year is to have the deck pressure washed and sealed again. We did it three years ago, so why do we have to do it again? You see, the sun, rain, leaves, ice, and snow keep beating on the deck, wearing the sealant down over time – not to mention people and animals walking on it. The sealer can only withstand so much “abuse” without breaking down, leading to eventual decay of the wood, if not regularly re-applied. Regular application of Christ is also required to keep us sealed and protected from the harmful elements that are always ready to penetrate and cause destruction. It may not feel or look like anything happens for a while, but keep applying (receiving) the sealer. The storms will come, and that’s when you see. What would have worn you down in the past just beads up and rolls off, not leaving any lasting damage. The Word Christ – I don’t have to understand how He works. I just need to believe and receive Him!
To Make Christ Known 
Kay – How simple and yet so effective. “Just keep speaking the word mom” (Nathan ) is what I kept hearing when I read that. We dont always see the whole picture but if we will continue in His word it will not return void.
I like that ….” Just apply it ” ! you read the instructions and you did what it said to do and just look, it did what it told you it would do! hmmm
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