Garrison Keillor tells a story about an old pump in the schoolyard. It had an iron handle. He said, “I knew if I put my tongue on that pump handle during the winter it would freeze to it and I would not be able to get it off. I had been warned so many times by my mother that when I saw that pump it started to speak to me. And it said, ‘Come on over here. Come on over here. You know you want to.’”
In Garrison Keillor’s story that iron pump handle represents the temptations we all face. And those temptations speak to us. “Come on over here. You know you want to.”
So what are the pump handles in your life? How are you dealing with them?
“‘Simon, stay on your toes. Satan has tried his best to separate all of you from me, like chaff from wheat. Simon, I’ve prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out.’”
— Luke 22:31-32 (The Message)
Lord Jesus, help me to recognize the “pump handles” in my life and give me the strength to resist them. In Your holy name I pray. Amen.