It started with a drip.  It didn’t happen often.  It wasn’t enough to make me worry.  But still, it was a drip.

I didn’t know where it came from.  I wasn’t really concerned.  After all, it was just a drip.  In the ceiling.  But over time, that drip which I had so casually ignored was so persistent that it led to a crack in my ceiling, which eventually turned into a hole…with water leaking.

While I don’t know that the leak causing the drip could have been prevented, I do know that I could have kept the situation from transforming from a small drippy leak into a flow of water coming from my ceiling, if I hadn’t made the decision to ignore it.

It’s interesting because we can be like that.  We can have little drips of sin that we notice, but overlook because it’s doesn’t seem like a big deal.  You know, we slipped up and cursed at someone, or we told a “little white lie”.  We notice that we do it, but we figure it’s not that bad, so we don’t fully do a heart check and repent.  Eventually, we slide further and further away from God; those little drips become huge drops, staining our heart and clouding our mind.

I’ve been there.  So I know that what sounds and seems minute makes a huge difference.  What’s beneath the surface, what’s in our hearts, those little drips that are slowly exposed- they matter.  Think about it like this: 90% of the iceberg that destroyed the Titanic was beneath the water.  Likewise, we will be destroyed not by what is on the outside, but what is beneath the surface.

Or as the word says:

“But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” – Matthew 15:18-20

Heart check: What leaks or drips are you experiencing that you need to fix?  Don’t wait until it’s overflowing!  During this time of consecration, I am asking God to clean my heart so that my thoughts and my words will be reflective of what I believe and pleasing unto Him.

Be encouraged! God isn’t through with you yet!