Friday, November 26, 2010

Running on Empty

Before technology in vehicles, you had to guess how many miles you had left when the gas gauge was low. Today, we have the luxury to look at the dashboard and see what the computer estimates is left. Knowing that is a good thing. It helps you from running out of gas. How do we know if we are running on empty? Often times we don’t know until it is too late. One of my favorite songs is “Everlasting God”. It’s a song that is based on a passage from Isaiah 40 that reads, “The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.”

Many times we try to see how far we can get, unintentionally, without spending quality one on one time with God. Our egos get in the way of the ever- present Holy Spirit that is beckoning our attention. Many of us try to get through the whole week with just spending one hour on a Sunday morning with God and filling up as much as we can during that hour`. Meanwhile, we remain on cruise control. We try to fill our tank with everything but what is necessary to function: fellowship with friends, insightful books, worshipful music and “drive-by” encounters with God are all things we look for and try to do. While these are all positive activities, they are not sufficient enough for sustained spiritual growth.

In the book of James, we find where our dependence, our source of strength, should come from. We need to be completely, solely dependent upon Him. He is our strength, our fuel. Subjecting ourselves to Him, our motives and our desires to His, leaves us full and confident to continue our journey.