BATTERIES

I have a Pacemaker and it runs on batteries. The unit was inserted in 2012, and I was told the batteries would last “about 10 years.” Recently (August, 2026), I had my semi-annual checkup at the pacemaker center, and I was told that I would need new batteries very soon. They have been good batteries because I have had them helping pace the heart for 14 years.

I have several items that depend on batteries: computer, phone, clocks, flashlights, fire and CO alarms, and so on. The batteries come in all sizes, some are expensive, and most have expiration dates on them. I seem to be battery dependent!

It wasn’t always that way: I grew up on a small farm in Pennsylvania, and we only needed batteries for our flashlights. We had kerosene lamps, coal stoves, and warm blankets. Life has changed and I am happy for all my conveniences, even when I must buy batteries for them.

Some of my family have “hybrid” cars and they run partially on batteries. They combine a gas engine, a battery, and an electric motor to save fuel. The cars come in all shapes and sizes, including compact hatchbacks and can cost the same or less than a gas-powered vehicle. Many outperform their nonhybrid counterparts in road tests and beat gas-only electric vehicles in reliability rankings. In other words, battery cars seem to be the vehicles of the future.

There are all kinds of other things that now run on batteries, even airplanes. Golf carts have been on batteries for a long time, as have many household appliances. Batteries are everywhere.

I read that a battery works by converting stored chemical energy into electrical energy through a chemical reaction. Furthermore, “the battery does not directly store electricity but rather uses chemicals that want to react and swap electrons.” That sounds a bit complicated and I’m glad I don’t have to know have that information in memory to buy batteries.

A pacemaker and batteries are helping to keep me alive, but I also realize that God has “numbered” the days that I will live, regardless of my implanted device. He uses it to help me, just as he does with pills, exercise, and programs. God gives me every good thing, and I praise him for them. 

The Energizer Bunny and the Duracell Bunny are rabbit mascots featured in battery advertisements. Bunnies hop with excitement and portray how using them in our flashlights and pacemakers should give us extra energy. But bunnies die and so do batteries.

I also have hearing aids that need batteries for power. In the old pair I had, I needed to insert new batteries whenever they yelled “battery.” My new one’s recharge by simply plugging them into a device each night. They are connected by “Bluetooth” to my phone, which also monitors the life of the batteries.

Batteries are not helpful if they simply sit on a shelf somewhere, although we are always glad to have some on reserve. My inner source of energy comes from the Holy Spirit, who does not want to sit on my self-dependent and complacent shelf. In fact, if I don’t access him daily and depend on him, I will be disregarding an immense spiritual power.

I often need the Holy Spirit to recharge me. My energy gets discharged by listening to the news, watching TV, or reading reports of the evil and problems around me. However, God’s power is already here, for as Jesus told the woman at the well: “[T]he time is coming and is already here, when by the power of God's Spirit people will worship the Father as he really is, offering him the true worship that he wants. God is Spirit, and only by the power of his Spirit can people worship him as he really is.” (John 4.23-24)

We think of the power of batteries, but “What gives life is God's Spirit; human power is of no use at all.” (John 6.63)

There are therefore two major sources of power: spiritual and human. The former will last forever, and the latter, like batteries, will die with us and can lead us astray if we depend on it to the exclusion of the former.

Jesus prayed in John 17.11-12 that the Father would keep us safe, just as he kept his disciples safe by the power of his name. 

“Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might belong to our God forever and ever! Amen!” (Revelation 7.12)

No batteries needed.

Karl Franklin