by Vicki Campbell 

Have you ever felt you couldn’t get through to God . . . Or felt you weren’t hearing from him, or that He wasn’t hearing you?  Have you ever had a hard time in relationships with other people?  It could be that you’ve got congested pipelines – that your plumbing is all stopped up.  When you feel like this, you need to shine the Holy Spirit’s spotlight into your pipeline to see what’s clogging it up.

Many years ago, long before I ever heard Pastor Tom mention it in his preaching, the Lord gave me a personal revelation in the form of a parable.  He showed me that I have two pipes – like plumbing pipes – coming out of my heart.  One of these pipes extends upward to God, which is the passageway for our relationship and communication with Him; the other pipe extends outward horizontally, and is the means by which I relate to other people.

He showed me that our pipeline to Him is the main, and the most important one.  He told me that if His pipeline is clogged up, and not free and clear, it automatically affects our other pipeline reaching out to others.  The only way we can have proper relationships and communication with other people is to have the proper relationship and communication with Him.

He went on to compare it with the plumbing in our house.  I could see that over time, and without the proper maintenance, pipes can get clogged up with hair, food, grease, and other debris that doesn’t belong there.  This causes the drain to be slow and sluggish to the point the water has a hard time getting through.  If it’s not taken care of, it won’t be long before nothing can flow through that pipe.  It can’t do what it was designed to do, and you’ll have a mess on your hands.

God explained that it’s the same with us.  If we allow ungodly things to stay in our hearts, they will start clogging up our passageway to Him.  They will get in the way and interfere with our relationship with Him.  Not only will we have a hard time praying, praising, and spending time with Him, but we’ll also have a hard time hearing what He’s trying to say to us.  In addition, we won’t be able to receive all of the things he wants to give us – even the simple things in life like love, peace, health, and joy.  Even though He’s reaching out and handing them to us, we won’t be able to receive them because of all the garbage that’s stopping these blessings from getting to us.  It makes sense, doesn’t it?

He went on to describe that if this main heavenly pipeline is clogged up, it will always affect how we inter-relate to other people.  The main pipe has to be free and clear before any secondary pipes can function in the way in which they were designed.  In other words, all of the garbage in our hearts that is stopping up our main pipeline will start spilling out as we relate to other people.  We’ll have a hard time giving and receiving love. Bitterness and anger will start seeping out into our relationships.  Good intentions will have a hard time coming in to us or going out from us.  Then, when we react to our perception of other’s actions, we add more garbage on the pile that’s already almost impossible to get through.

God showed me many things may be found stagnating in our hearts and pipelines – sin, worry, rebellion, unforgiveness, anger, bitterness, and the list goes on.  The Holy Spirit will show us the things that hinder us if we ask Him and cooperate with Him.  We must be honest with ourselves and not let Satan’s lies and deceptions keep us from the best that God has for us.  These ungodly things must all be dealt with.  When God gave me this revelation, it wasn’t so that I might have some super spiritual encounter to brag upon.  No, it was because my pipelines were getting clogged up, and they were getting worse every day.  It’s not that I wanted that to happen, or even realized that it was.   He was trying to get my attention so that I could reach out for His help to fix the problem.

God began dealing with me concerning unforgiveness and bitterness. I had been hurt deeply, and so many times from several different sources.  Many times, I felt like the effects of these experiences were killing me a little bit day by day.  I didn’t feel like I even knew who I was anymore, and that the person I once was no longer existed.

God didn’t come to me with anger or condemnation. He knew about my broken heart, the rejections, the disappointments, and the humiliations.  No, He came to me in a sensitive, gentle way.  He showed me that I really had to deal with unforgiveness and bitterness.  I thought I already had, but I found out that they can slip back in if we’re not careful.  Something may happen to trigger our memory, and we’ll replay that horror story over again in our minds and that unforgiveness will slither right back in, perhaps even undetected.

It was painful at the time, but I asked the Holy Spirit to help me roto-rooter my pipes, and He did.  He brought people and situations to my mind that I hadn’t even thought about in years, and when He did, I gave it to God.  I consciously forgave each individual who had hurt me in any way.  I had to ask God for His forgiveness, too.  When I was through, I felt so clean and free inside, and God’s perfect peace consumed me.  His peace had been there all of the time.  I just had to get into a position to receive it.

  Vicki