Several years ago, ok, I’ll admit it was more like over 40
years ago; our church was involved in an annual fundraiser for foreign
missions, entitled Sheaves for Christ. One
of the fundraising activities was a 20 Mile Walkathon. I enlisted sponsors, laced up my shoes and
excitedly, took off with the rest of the group at the starting line. We quickly moved ahead of some and fell
behind others but that was ok because my friends and I were walking along,
chatting and enjoying the day. Almost 10
miles in, we stopped for a bathroom/rest break.
The workers handed out a cup of cold water and a snack, which I promptly
sat down to enjoy. BIG MISTAKE!!! I suddenly realized that my legs were like rubber
and my feet had developed blisters on top of blisters; I had completely run out
of “gas.” No amount of “pride in finishing,”
getting the t-shirt or hearing cheers from the crowd could motivate me…I was DONE and the only thing on my mind was
getting a ride back to the starting line.
SOMETIMES YOU DON’T
KNOW YOU ARE RUNNING ON EMPTY UNTIL YOU STOP AND CAN’T GET RESTARTED!
Three years ago, we moved back to Michigan, exhausted,
blistered and bruised. Sure, the “gas
gauge” of our spirits registered empty, but we were still idling, so we
continued walking. We found a church to
attend full of wonderful people but instead of instead of allowing ourselves to
get “refueled,”
we jumped right in and kept walking.
We tried to be encouraging, prayer warriors and do what we were asked to
do but secretly I knew we were “running on empty” and soon even the
“fumes”
would be ineffective. If you have ever
allowed your automobile’s gas gauge to fall to empty, you know if the car is
idling, you put it in drive and step on the gas, it will go for a while because
there is a small amount of fuel in the pump.
If you ever stop, however, there will probably not be enough to restart
the car because it isn’t created to “run
on fumes.”
YOU WERE NOT CREATED
TO RUN ON FUMES!
Finally, one day, the engine died; there was no more to give
and even the fumes had disappeared in the breeze. But God was not about to let me sit and rust
out, so I took in just enough fuel to get me to the next station and then the
next. Along the way, I have had some “God-Encounters”
and “Divine Appointments” and times when I could reach w a a a a y down
to the “bottom of the barrel” and find “just enough” to
encourage that hurting soul or pray for a hopeless situation; then “just
enough” to make it to the next prayer meeting or church service, but I
had no reserves; only fumes.
IT’S TIME FOR A
FILL-UP!!!
Living through 50+ years of northern winters, you quickly
learn that it is a good idea to keep the tank full. If you don’t, it is possible that moisture
will get in and mix with the gas or even freeze in the hoses…not positive occurrences. Spiritually, we do not want to sit, stand or
run on empty for too long and allow foreign substances to dilute the fuel or
freeze our spirit….It is time for a fill-up. So for the next few months, I will spend time
connecting with the only one who can REPLENISH, REVIVE and RENEW my spirit
with His Holy Spirit. I intend to spend
time walking and talking with Him, refreshing my mind with His written
instructions and listening, REALLY
LISTENING to His voice. You will see me as we continue doing life. I will wave and smile as I pass by and I’ll
probably stop to offer an encouraging word and prayer but I can no longer RUN ON EMPTY…I need a HOLY GHOST FILL UP!
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