Running on Empty

      
I have a bad tendency to run my vehicle down to way past what would be good sense practice. Most later model vehicles have low fuel warning sensors and several vehicles come equipped with a digital read out displaying estimated miles remaining in your tank. Not the case back in 1990, my little Ford Ranger doesn't even have a low fuel warning light! My best warning signal is when the fuel display needle meets the white line where the "E" is situated. I haven't run out of fuel to date, but I'm pretty sure if I keep pushing my luck and continue allowing the needle and white "Empty" line to blur, pretty soon that is bound to happen. Fortunately, there exists a quick fix for this situation which involves me taking the time to pull in to a gas station and fueling up L'il Red. We're lucky to have fuel for our vehicles so readily available and easily accessible, but what about your mental gas tank? Where do you go when you need a fill up?
      It's not as easy for us to refuel our tank as it is to fill up our car's tank. I mean you have to first find what truly energizes you, and then you have to find a source of that energy to tap. Too often, we are guilty of attempting to refuel on things of this world that actually end up dragging us down instead of providing us with energy to move forward. If you think sitting down on the couch and watching multiple hours of television will reboot your life, I sadly want to inform you that more than likely you won't come away from that experience with any additional positive energy. The majority of things promoted on television only serve to make us feel like we are missing out on what "everyone" else is experiencing, or the news or lack of news barrages us with the sad state of things in this world ranging from drug addiction, murder, hatred and even war. It just doesn't seem to be anything that could serve to energize us, no my friend television just doesn't seem to be the answer.
     How about social media and the wide array of options to check in, keep up, and check out what's going on around the world with our "friends"? The more I see on social media the less I want to be on it! I use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to share Flat Tire Ministries, and Twitter as a resource for the successes of our students, but outside of that I rarely spend any measurable amount of time on social media. From what I gather it appears to be a platform for people to compare their lives to the lives of others and in many cases, create a false sense of reality for others to envy or duplicate. The "social" aspect of social media is in reality anti-social!
      What about money, material possessions, drugs, alcohol, or whatever it looks like as you attempt to keep up with the Jones'? Nope, nope, nope, nope, and a double nope! You might find temporary fixes in each of these, but it's like pulling up to the gas station and putting two dollar’s worth of gas in an empty tank. It will get you a little further down the road, but sooner than later you are going to need another pit stop to keep you going. If none of the things listed above will provide you with sustaining motivation and energy to reach your life's goals then the question begs, "Where should my strength come from?"
      Isaiah 58:11 provides us with the answer to that very question. When you are feeling run down, when you have hit a brick wall, when you can't see anything but a tunnel with no light at the end in sight, or even when you have fallen and you don't think you can get back up, we have this promise; "The Lord will always lead you. He will meet the needs of your soul in the dry times and give strength to your body. You will be like a garden that has enough water, like a well of water that never dries up." NLV.  This is where I find the strength to carry on and go forward in all situations and under any circumstances. You can knock me down, but you can't keep me down! I may fall 100 times, but I will get up 101 times or as many times as it takes to reach my destination. Just think about what Isaiah is promising here, if we will call on Him he will always lead us, when we feel like we are out of fuel in our tank He will give us the strength we need if we will only trust and believe, and the source of this inner strength will never run dry! If you possess this inner strength then you know what I am talking about. If you know where this strength comes from, but you have made the decision to fuel up at a different station then you can make a U-turn anytime you like and pull back in to the true filling station. If you are lost and trying to find a source of energy that will sustain your life, and never leave you wanting then our Lord and Savior is the one that can put a "tiger in your tank!" Don't wait for your tank to register empty before you seek a refill, look to the mountains from whence my strength comes from, my strength comes from the Lord the Maker of Heaven and earth! He is there waiting on you, is it time for a fill up?