Every week before I mow our lawn, I check the fluids in our lawn mower. To check the gas, I just remove the cap and look into the gas tank to see if there is any liquid in there. Sometimes out of laziness I hope more than confirm that there is sufficient gas, because the only gauge that I have to check the gas level is to check how far it is from the top of the tank. That may seem simple, but it is dark inside the tank and it is often difficult to tell where the fluid level is.
Checking the oil level is an entirely different process. All I have to do is take off the oil cap and look at the dipstick that is attached to it. There are two dots on the dipstick that indicate the optimal range for the oil level… there is no guessing, no hoping. The makers of the mower make it possible to measure the oil because it is crucial for the operation of the engine. If the engine runs out of gas, the engine will stop until you put more gas in and start it back up. If the engine runs out of oil, it will likely never run again.
Colossians 1:9-12 9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
Paul’s prayer for the Colossians 1:9-12 is important for us to consider as we examine our own life and spiritual walk with God. Do you treat your spiritual life like a gas tank or an oil reservoir? Do you look in to your Bible study and prayer life and simply confirm that they are there? If they disappeared would you notice any difference in the rest of your life? Paul provides us with marks for our spiritual lives in these verses, and we can measure not only the presence of our walk with the Lord but our progress as well. If we hold our lives up against these marks, we will get a picture of the health of our spiritual life as well as areas that we might be holding back from the power of the Spirit.
Verses like these cut me to the quick; when I examine my day to day life, I see that my levels of patience and joy are often low. I realize that I need to seek harder after joy in the morning before my day starts, and take specific steps to remain in the Spirit when I leave my quiet time and enter the world.
What are some of your experiences? Do you have specific ways that you 1) measure your spiritual walk and 2) seek to remain in the Spirit throughout your day?
Posted by Mickey Friedrich 
