When I was younger, I spent a lot of my free time playing pick up basketball. One of the great frustrations of the sport was dealing with an under inflated ball. Basketballs need a certain amount of air in order to function properly.
We are like basketballs. We operate best when properly inflated. An under inflated ball can be “palmed” much easier, but it doesn’t dribble well and it doesn’t fly accurately. Without fail, when the game ball was in need of air, the most valuable piece of equipment was not the ball, nor the pump…but a needle.
A needle is a small, inexpensive, easy to carry (and easy to lose) tool used to pump the air back into the ball. In life, sometimes we are the ball, and sometimes we are the pump, but in order to make the relationship work, you need a needle.
When you are under inflated, you can be restored by a kind word, a good deed, a stirring message or an anointed time of worship or fellowship. When others need a boost, you can provide what is needed and help “pump them back up”.
So then what is this needle? Every ball has a small opening designed for a needle. Pumps have openings too, so the needle can be attached. The needle has an opening as well, so the air can flow through between the ball and pump. In our lives though, what is the needle?
When you feel deflated, and you are not bouncing back or rolling straight and smooth, are you willing to be encouraged? Are you willing to allow someone access to your life to pump you back up? Are you willing to acknowledge you need a little air?
If you are the “pump”, are you willing to invest in someone else? Even if it means you have to apply multiple applications before you see beneficial results? How many times have we just pumped and pumped and pumped…not even bothering to check the inflation, because we know the ball needs a lot of air! When we get tired of pumping, we check it. When you minister to others, do you even go until you are tired? Are you willing to keep pumping even when you don’t see results right away?
The needle is a willing heart, and there are times when as the pump, you have to be a little more assertive to make sure the air gets in. Are you willing to push past initial resistance? The quality of the game will suffer with an improperly inflated ball, just as the quality of our life suffers when we are not inflated properly.
“Do not over inflate”…this is a common warning on most basketballs. Is your estimation of yourself and your abilities over inflated? Again we need the needle. Not to add, but to let some air out. Are you willing to be humble? To be corrected, or instructed so you can function properly? Whether a ball or a needle, God is calling all of us to have a needle…a willing heart, an open, obedient heart. Have a committed heart, an honest and humble heart. Too often those kinds of attitudes are harder to find than a needle in a haystack. Guard your needle, keep it safe and available, so you can stay properly inflated.
Everyday God... 