I saw a large pile of logs that had been standing for some time in all kinds of weather.  Some of the pile had been taken care of and covered as a protection against the elements so the logs were dry and safe.  The uncovered part of the pile was in a sorry state.  It had got wet and dried out again so many times the logs had split in places and the insects had got into the wood and made homes.  Mould had made the process of decay worse.

The time came to use the wood in the log pile, the uncovered wood couldn't be used for much as it had been destroyed by outside influences.  The wood that had been covered was dry and seasoned, the person who used it would be able to make many things from it.  If he needed a fire it would burn bright and warm whereas the wet wood would only smolder and wouldn't give out any heat.  The dry wood could be used for sculpting, the wet wood just crumbled and split when anyone tried to use it.

The wood that had been protected was strong and still full of power that it had always had whereas the wet wood had been weakened.
 
 
 

When we think of ourselves in like terms are we like the dry wood strong and protected or the wet weakened by the elements around us?

If we stay in Christ we are covered and protected from anything the enemy can throw at us, and because of this we can be used by God to do many things in his name.  But is we step outside of Christ then we lose that protection and we are at the mercy of the enemy and this weakens us. One thing that would encourage us though is that although the moldering wood is very often beyond redeeming we are not we can be restored by going back into our Fathers embrace.  By being truly sorry for any wrongdoing we are welcomed back into his cover and protection.