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Pushing the Limits

Have you ever felt like you were running on empty, not only in the natural sense, but also in the spiritual sense? Sometimes we push the limits and keep going even when we need to stop and refuel. Ask me how many times I’ve ran on fumes in my vehicle. Just ask me! There’s too many to count no doubt. My car seems to stay on “E” more than “F”. Each time my tank hits “E”, a friendly little warning light shoots on, but at no expense, I bat my eyes and ignore the signals and I just keep on truckin. I had convinced myself I could stretch that dollar and go at least another ten miles. With no avail, my nifty and reliable car isn’t suited to run on “E”. She’s a bit of a diva. She prefers to be full, but who doesn’t? It’s smooth running after my belly is full! I’m energetic, more coherent and ready to run…Pushing my car to the limits stresses out the system—it loses power, eventually shuts down and leaves me stranded on the side of the road. It too, runs best when full.

Fessing Up

I NEVER wanted to call my dad in this situation because I knew he was going to scold me for not being responsible and proactive. Ohhhhhhh the dreaded lecture that was to come. A broken record of, “I told you so…” But he was right. And my dad did what every loving father would do– he would mend the situation and save the day. He would come to my rescue with just enough gas to get me to the nearest gas station. I knew that I was wrong for ignoring the signals that it was time to pull over and refuel. If you really think about it, that’s how we get emotionally and spiritually too. Our relationship with God gets a little empty, a little low on juice. All these worldly distractions pull us away from our creator. Before we know it, we’ve become so distant, that our lives are in shambles emotionally, spiritually and sometimes physically. It’s not because God leaves us; it’s because we didn’t take the time to acknowledge Him and allow Him to fill us with his love and peace. Maybe we had things going on in our lives that we just didn’t understand or that we didn’t expect and we allowed the circumstances to bring us down to the point that we felt lonely and hopeless. Maybe we had some very important life decisions that needed to be made, but we got so caught up in trying to figure these things out on our own without looking to God for the answers. Absolute truth lies in God. And all the answers we’ll ever need should originate from God. We become so distracted by our circumstances that we forget to look up to Him for the solution. This is soooo draining. Efficiency is key to thriving and finding joy and happiness in life. Spinning our wheels over and over again isn’t sufficient, nor is it a time to be self-reliant. We need God just as our vehicles need fuel to run. It’s time to tank up on His faith, hope, and love!

Food for Thought

Hebrews 5:12-14 AMP reads, “For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God’s Word. You have come to need milk, not solid food. ₁₃For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]! ₁₄But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.” Get the KJV here. Just as babies rely on mother’s milk for nourishment, we too must rely on God’s word for spiritual feedings. Without vitamins and nutrients, a baby wouldn’t grow…Hmmmm, so without God’s word, how will we mature and develop our own faith and relationship? We must continue to believe and place all of our hope and trust in God and that He will work out every situation in our life for the good of His kingdom. We can’t trust in our on strength. Control is a slippery slope. Learning to let go and let God is a must! Remember: when we’re running on empty, we must refuel on the word of God. Listen deeply to the warning signs and respond to them without delay, but as you respond, ask yourself this, “Did I seek counsel from the great physician before I acted?” Be wise and pray about everything.

Personal Reflection & Discussion

1. How do you feed yourself spiritually each day?

2. Discuss a time when you felt hopelessly stranded. How did you react? How did God help you overcome this roadblock in your life?

Peace, Love & Healing,

Four Sisters Blogging