Tom Robinson is a videographer who has captured the result when the vacuum in an incandescent light bulb fails. The process is rather spectacular and it vividly illustrates what actually happens when we say that a light bulb burns out.
The same video is a great parable for what happens when we fail to cultivate a life of deep dependence upon God. When we don’t, life becomes a frantic, tiresome effort to maintain the integrity, or vacuum that feeds us. And when that vacuum fails, we burn out.
That is life without prayer
Life lived on our own terms
Life lived in dependence upon our own efforts
Don’t be an incandescent bulb. Find a light that never fails.
According to the video not only did the light go out but the vessel broke apart. Reminds me of us when we try to do too much without the Spirit’s mobilization. We get tired, irritable, moody, and soon get a good case of “poor me”. Then follows hurt feelings and we quit what we were so earnestly doing. Jesus, our Master Teacher, was busy every day while physically on earth yet spent nights in prayer. He being God and man makes me wonder how we think to do anything without prayer. How amazingly true that we not only think to do but do. No wonder there is so much burn out!
Carol Lawson