Running On Empty

“This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” and, “This is the refreshing”—yet they would not hear." (Isaiah 28:12)

I used to have a personal policy to never let the gas gauge in my car get below half full. That way, I would never risk running out of gas.

Sounds pretty smart, right?

So why do I sometimes wait and let my spiritual gas gauge get all the way down to "E", until the yellow "empty tank" indicator comes on? 

Do you ever do that too? Let yourself get so run down—so spiritually, emotionally, and physically depleted—that you're frazzled, weary, not sleeping well, stressed out to the max, ineffective, grumpy, and snapping at the people around you?

This is not a recipe for a spiritually vibrant, joyful, and productive life.

The Promise of Rest

“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest…”

“Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”

"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works, as God did from His.” (Hebrews chapter 4)

God calls us to stop doing things in our own strength—to cease from our own works, and to rest in the finished work Jesus Christ already performed on the Cross. It's called Grace. By bridging the sin-gap between God and man, Jesus removed all barriers between God and us. We, as children of God, now have full access to God as our Father, 24/7. 

And yet, it seems most of us will only cry out to God and drop to our knees in prayer when everything in our life hits the fan—when we reach a point of desperation from working ourselves to exhaustion and frustration. We drive till we're empty. 

We let our tank go dry. 

Instead, wouldn't it be better to choose to draw near to God on a daily basis, spending time with Him, topping off our spiritual tank to the point of overflowing?, therefore, never reaching the point of emptiness?

A favorite verse of mine, and that of a dear friend, is John 7:37-38. Jesus said:

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

The key is... whoever is thirsty—let him willingly choose to come to Jesus and drink.

Drawing near to Jesus is a choice.

It's your choice.

Jesus is the Fountain of Living Waters. (See Jeremiah 2:13)

If you had been wandering in a scorching hot desert for weeks, parched and dying of thirst, and you came upon a fountain of cool, fresh, spring water, what would you do? Would you sit by and wait until someone asked you if you were thirsty? Or would you immediately dive into the fountain and drink till you had fully satisfied your thirst?

I would dive right in with reckless abandon.

That's what Jesus is calling you to do today, thirsty friend.

Jesus said: "Let him come to Me..."

"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8).

It's an invitation, but you have to freely accept the invitation and then draw near to Him.

Jesus said:

“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me—but you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40)

This is why many people run dry. They are not willing to come to Jesus that they may have the abundant life He promises.

Who knows for what reasons people choose not to draw near. 

Maybe they are too busy? Maybe things seems to be going so well and they don't really see their need to draw near to God today?  

But either way, you're making a choice. You make the choice to draw near to God. Or you make the choice to not draw near to Him.

God said this to His people through the Prophet Isaiah:

“This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” and, “This is the refreshing”—yet they would not hear."

God was offering His people rest and times of refreshing, and yet they would not listen and enter in.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29) 

Today you can choose to freely enter into God's presence by coming to Jesus and praising Him for who He is, and thanking Him for what He's done for you. By thanking Him for the love and sacrifice of the Cross. Spend some time in a quiet place, with no distractions, talking to Him, listening for His still, small voice in your heart. Read a portion of the Bible and ask Him for understanding of what you've read, and quietly meditate on the wonderful truths of the revelation of scripture. And then ask Him for the needs you have, and for the needs of others. Times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord.

Think of how different your life would be, if you spent time every day drawing near to God as I've described here.

Your spiritual tank would constantly be full—to the point of overflowing—with rivers of living water flowing out of your heart.

And if rivers of God's living water were constantly flowing out of your heart, think of how it would bless all those around you?

Your life, and their lives, would never be the same.

—God is Love and Love never Fails.