Randy has to occasionally remind me that cars cannot keep running unless more fuel is put into the tank to spark the fire that keeps the engine going. I know that in my mind, but I also like to use up every drop of fuel until it is gone AND I don’t like stopping what I am doing to get more fuel. I LOVED it when the invention of new gauges on cars were created to tell you exactly how many more miles you can go. Well, almost.

It is a sad event when your fuel runs out and the car/van/truck will no longer get you where you thought you needed to go. Is that God’s fault that I ran out of fuel before getting to my destination? Nope. It’s my fault. It’s poor planning, mistaken judgement in what I thought I had to keep me going. It’s not keeping the tank full so there are no worries of being caught without fuel, it’s going and going and not stopping to refuel and that causes trouble for everyone.

When you run out of fuel, everything stops. Your life is put on hold. It’s not just about you. Your actions affect others around you…your loved ones, first. Others are called on to stop what they are doing to bail you out and bring you fuel. Sometimes your engine is so depleted that it might take some extra fuel splashed in the right place to restart the engine as well as fill the tank for reserve. Mm.

Our lives get that way with poor planning, thinking we can go the extra distance without refueling. We have no reserve, no margin of error in our lives. Let’s change how we think. We must keep the “tank” full at the filing station of God’s lap of listening each morning. Keeping the tank full is better planning for a whirlwind day of expectancy of what God will do next in our lives and possibly or quite probably in the lives of others. We are ready, then, for anything if we have first been filled with God’s Holy Spirit. This is the fuel that keeps us burning brightly for Him. This “fuel” fills to overflow on others, too! We can no more do this for ourselves than expecting our vehicles to go to the gas stations for themselves.

This passage reminds me of Jesus’ story of the virgins keeping enough fuel in their lamps to burn brightly until the bridegroom’s (Jesus) return. Mm. Some were ready, others…not so much. (Matthew 25)

Are we ready, refueled and always aflame, for wherever God wants to take us? I would hate to have to say, “Ah, just a minute, Lord, while I refuel…”

Dear Heavenly Father, Ouch. These words are fuel for our souls. You have convicted us to make sure we remain full of the fuel You give us through Your Holy Spirit each day…enough for each day…our daily manna. Thank you, Lord. We are ready! Thank you for always being with us, dear Emmanuel, speaking to our hearts with love, mercy and grace.
In Jesus Name, Amen