The Smoke Detector of the Spirit

Last night, we changed the batteries in the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in our house. Those vapors are often invisible, usually difficult to smell (I think), and impossible to breathe. I hear that the people who die in house fires often dies of smoke inhalation before the flames even reach them (making it a slightly less horrible way to die, in my opinion, than being burned alive). The potential presence of invisible, odorless, unbreathable gases in our air is why we have smoke detectors in the first place. Without them, we could easily not realize such gases are in our homes until the smoke inhalation kills us.

The trouble with smoke detectors is that they're easy to forget about. They're battery-powered, so they don't rely on power from the grid, but that means that they have a finite life-span. We need to keep their batteries fresh so they can keep scanning for bad gases. If we let their batteries die, we put ourselves in danger of dying, too.

The spiritual forces that threaten us are also invisible and difficult to detect, and they can be just as dangerous to our souls as carbon monoxide is to our bodies. To help us recognize and avoid such spiritual dangers, we need to have the influence of the Holy Spirit to guide us away from dangerous places and situations. But just like the batteries of our smoke detectors, we need to keep our connection to the Spirit fresh, or we'll become less able to feel its influence. If we allow our connection with the Spirit to fade, we'll be putting ourselves in spiritual danger.

Though the threats to our well-being and happiness aren't always apparent, they are real and we need to protect ourselves from them. A warning from the Spirit may make the difference between remaining spiritually clean and falling into the invisible trap of sin. I advise you, and myself, to frequently do things that will strengthen and reestablish your connection to the Spirit. Strong spiritual sensitivity might just save your soul.