“And he said unto them, come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while… ” Mark 6:3

I have a dear friend who veers off to the nearest gas station the minute her gas light pops up on the dashboard. She is so afraid of getting stranded at the side of the road with an empty tank. (as she rightly should be)

Her friend on the other hand (me), would wait until getting down to the very last drop before looking for a gas pump. Now I’ve gotten a whole lot better, but I used to cut it pretty close when it came to filling up my tank. I was either always running late for something, or telling myself that it would be easier to get it on my way home.

It was the same with my check-engine light; when it came on sometimes I’d take care of it right away, other times I’d ride it out a week or two before getting it checked out. To the mechanics reading this in horror, take heart, I’ve come a long way in doing the right thing by my vehicle.

But when I stop to think about what could have been going on under the hood of my car, or in my gas tank for that matter. It would be the equivalent of having a body ache and waiting two or three weeks to go to the emergency room. By then the problem would be much worse and the pain probably unbearable.

Yet, how many times do we do the very same thing as Christians? Running around with our spiritual tanks on, or close to empty? Days, sometimes weeks, no prayer, no bible reading, no real spiritual fuel for our souls. And yes, just like the car we’ll get from point A to B, but barely, and with very little joy or enthusiasm.

When there is something off in our spirits, especially for a long period of time, we can feel it. We’re moody for no apparent reason, irritable, depressed, and worried about everything and everyone under the sun. We just don’t feel like ourselves. It might be an indication that we need to pop our spiritual hoods and tend to whatever is going on inside.

There is no way we can help anyone else while we ourselves are running around on fumes; barely hanging on and on the verge of spiritual collapse. We have to fill up our tanks daily on prayer and the Word of God; refreshing our mind, body and soul by spending time in His presence. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

The Lord promises to fill our cups to overflowing, and it’s only then that we’ll have more than enough to flow into the lives of those who need it. That individual who needs someone to prayerfully stand in the gap for them, or the person who just needs us to share with them a personal testimony of God’s faithfulness.

When unexpected situations flood our lives, or the lives of our loved ones, and we have to get down on our knees to travail in prayer, we need to be filled and we need to be ready.

It’s human for us to become burned out sometimes and to feel sapped in our spirits, but we shouldn’t stay there, not when the Lord is willing and able to fill us with whatever we need: joy, grace, peace, love, patience, forgiveness. So today, there’s no need for you to run on empty, not when your Heavenly Father has an endless supply just waiting for you to come to Him and ask.

“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28