I’ve ran my energy tank to empty over and over in my life, and perhaps you can relate to what that feels like too. It seems to work for awhile, doesn’t it? We get so used to being there for everyone, doing all the things, and going through each day until we drop that we don’t even realize it until we snap at someone, get hit with illness, turn to our vices to numb out, or “suck our thumb” as a self-comfort in a myriad of ways. We crash and burn, have to pick up the pieces of things we destroyed, and feel in many ways that we have to start over again. We get hard on ourselves for failing, not being stronger, and feel weary about this perpetual cycle of what this life on earth seems to be.
Life feels like A LOT, but is that the way it really IS, or is it just the way it SEEMS? What are we missing, God?
I always prided myself on having a high capacity for a busy schedule — being able to say yes when most people would say no, being resilient, staying positive, and for being one who is able to be there for many, many people when they needed someone. The cycle of running myself to a point of exhaustion became part of who I thought I was and defined what I believed that living looked like on this side of heaven.
What does God have to say about that? How does God respond to his children who are throttled high and doing all the things, all while doing it in his name and as we say, “For God’s Glory!” As we say, “Well, someone has to step up, and God has blessed me with the time to do it, so…” As we say, “I can probably make that work in my schedule….” But do we keep our eyes on our Shepherd and ask for his guidance as we wander away from all that he has provided us in the pasture that he knows will give us what we need because “it seems like the right thing to do”?
With all Glory to God for my life and the gratitude I feel for being alive another day, I found myself running out of gas this morning… running low on patience, finding a hard time to love with grace the ones that God has given me to love, and wishing that I could do all the things without feeling fatigued, stressed, anxious, or demanding. Maybe you can relate?
Holy Spirit showed me something that I believe may inspire you too, and it’s simply what I’m learning as I’m growing in my faith just as you are, and traversing through life on my journey toward heaven.
Running on empty… When I reach this point of knowing that what I need most is time with Jesus in worship, prayer, or letting his living Word pour through me, I begin to feel antsy and a bit short on patience. It’s almost like how we feel when the LOW FUEL light comes on in the dashboard of our car, but before it starts to sputter and slowly comes to a dead halt on the side of the road.
Sensing the LOW FUEL light in my soul, I began to watch for the first opportunity to “pull in to a station” and refuel my tank with Holy Spirit gas, and I found myself battling another temptation… to fall back on my reserve tank filled with my human “gas” which is far less powerful, less right, less loving, more controlling and more selfish than Holy Spirit gas ever was or will ever be.
God showed me something amazing, though, which is like a switch that he equips us with that actually allows us to run completely on Holy Spirit “gas” or perhaps something like a solar-powered battery. Rather than falling back on my reserve tank of “human power” or adding Jesus power to my own tank filled with human gas, as I surrender more and more, I desire to run entirely on God’s tank that he created especially for me, equips me and teaches me to be fueled by it evenly and without fail, and he fills with himself. I believe that as we grow and mature in our faith and trust in God, we are able to be fueled by it in such a way that it can remain full and is recharged by God himself regardless of our human situation. Jesus showed us how he ran on this tank entirely rather than needing to rely on his human tank.
Even in writing this, I feel like my internal spiritual God tank has been filled and is now overflowing, and I thank God for his wisdom, his patience and his love as he speaks to each one of us this way. My heart and prayer is that we will all desire to trust God to fuel us each day and every moment, that we will listen to his nudging to sit with him and surrender to him, and that more and more Jesus followers will let themselves be powered by Holy Spirit, refilled by him, and that we will repent and humble ourselves in order to stop allowing ourselves to switch our system back to relying on the reserve tank of our human power.
May we wake up to the power of living fueled by the “tank” that God has placed in us, and may we be filled with a deep desire to be filled with all the “gas” available through Jesus that we need each day in order to nurture, to grow, and to expand his Kingdom on earth.
WAKE UP, SLEEPER, AND ARISE, FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS HERE. Switch your tanks to the one that will always be able to be filled with the power only God’s spirit can provide. SWITCH YOUR TANKS before the power goes out for good.
This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Ephesians 5:14-20 NIV
(Message by Stephanie K Ford, posted on Facebook, 04/23/2026)