There was once a young woman called Ketsy who had just joined college.
Like many students, she carried many things: a laptop bag, a notebook, a water bottle, a timetable she did not fully trust, and a phone.
Welcome to Modern Day Parables: The Parable of the Phone That Would Not Charge
Her phone was useful. She used it to check class notices, communicate with her group members, receive messages from home, read devotionals, confirm assignments, and occasionally calculate how far her pocket money could stretch before the month ended.
Every morning before she left the hostel, her mother would send a message: “Ketsy, have you charged your phone?”
And Ketsy would often reply quickly: “Yes, Mum.”
But many times, she had not. She would look at the battery and see 18% and say to herself, “It is enough. I will manage.”
By the time she reached the lecture hall, it was at 11%. By lunch, it was at 5%. By the afternoon group discussion, it was at 2%, walking in the valley of the shadow of death.
Then one day, just as she needed to call her mother after a long day on campus, the phone went off.
Ketsy stood outside the library with her books pressed against her chest and her phone lying cold in her palm. She pressed the power button once, then again, holding it a little longer the second time. The black screen only reflected her worried face. A student passed nearby, laughing into a call, and Ketsy shifted uneasily. She wiped the screen with the edge of her sleeve and tried once more, but the phone remained silent in her hand.
Her classmate Imara passed by and asked, “Ketsy, why are you negotiating with a dead phone?”
Ketsy sighed. “It has refused to work.”
Imara looked at her carefully and asked, “Did you charge it?”
Ketsy answered, “It was working in the morning.”
Imara raised an eyebrow. “That is not what I asked.”
Ketsy became quiet.
When she reached her hostel room, she plugged the phone into the charger. At once, the screen showed a small red battery.
Ketsy whispered, “Ah. So it was not dead forever.”
That evening, she called her mother and told her what had happened. Her mother laughed softly and said, “Ketsy, the phone was not broken. It was empty.”
Ketsy looked at the phone on the table.
Her mother continued, “You cannot expect a phone to serve you through lectures, notices, assignments, transport, and calls if you do not connect it to power. You may love the phone. You may protect it with a fine cover. You may clean the screen until it shines. You may even put a Bible verse as the wallpaper. But if it is not charged, it will fail when you need it.”
Ketsy was silent.
Then her mother said, “So it is with the heart.”
Ketsy listened.
“You cannot live on yesterday’s strength forever. You cannot face today’s pressure, temptation, fear, anger, jealousy, loneliness, disappointment, and confusion with a soul that has not been connected to God.”
Ketsy looked down.
Her mother continued gently, “Prayer is not punishment. The Word of God is not optional. Worship is not noise. Fellowship is not a college club for people who have nothing else to do. These are ways the heart returns to the Source.”
Ketsy smiled faintly. “So when I do not pray, I am like my phone at 2%?”
Her mother said, “Sometimes, my daughter, even 1%. Blinking dangerously, yet still opening many apps.”
Ketsy laughed.
Her mother said, “And the danger is this: when people are spiritually empty, they often still try to function. They attend class. They answer messages. They smile in public. They even encourage others. But inside, the battery is low. So they become easily irritated, easily discouraged, easily offended, easily tempted, and easily tired.”
Ketsy whispered, “Like a phone with a bright screen but no power behind it.”
“Yes,” her mother said. “Beautiful outside. Failing quietly inside.”
That night, Ketsy placed her phone on the charger.
Then she placed her heart before God. She opened her Bible. She did not read many chapters. She did not pray a prayer that would frighten the neighbours. She simply connected.
And in the quiet of her small hostel room, the Lord met her there.
The next morning, her mother sent the usual message: “Ketsy, have you charged your phone?”
Ketsy smiled and replied: “Yes, Mum.”
Then after a moment, she added: “And I have charged my heart too.”
Her mother smiled when she read it.
And heaven heard too.
And the lesson is this:
Many people want to live strong Christian lives while remaining disconnected from the Source of strength.
We desire patience without prayer. Wisdom without the Word.
Peace without His presence. Self-control without surrender. Fruit without abiding.
But Jesus said: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5
A branch does not produce fruit by admiring itself. It bears fruit because it remains connected to the vine.
In the same way, we do not overcome by pretending to be strong. We overcome by abiding in Christ.
A phone without charge is not useless forever. It only needs to be connected again.
And a believer who feels weak, dry, angry, confused, discouraged, or empty is not finished.
They may simply need to return to the Source.
May God help you and I to remain connected to Him daily; not only when life is difficult, but also when the morning is calm, the timetable is manageable, the battery looks full, and everything seems under control.
For the soul that stays connected will have strength when the day becomes long.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Find more modern day parables by Patrick Omukhango and Muthoni Omukhango at:
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