We live in a fast paced world. Many of the folks I know never have enough time to get everything on their to do list accomplished. It just seems to carry over from one day to the next. And for that reason, many of us never take the time to slow down and refuel. Just like an automobile, we need to stop and fill up our tank emotionally, spiritually, and physically so that we can keep going.
This Sunday I visited a church in my local area with my family and the pastor spoke to this issue of refueling. Here are the major points that he shared in the message. These statements tend to deal more with the spiritual side of the equation.
- Refueling equips us to face life’s challenges and struggles.
- Refueling helps to develop spiritual disciplines in our lives.
- Refueling allows us to get vital instruction from God.
- Refueling Gives us clarity to act.
- Refueling allows us to have moments of individual worship.
What about it? How often do you stop and refuel? What might you add to this list? What might you add to address the emotional and physical parts of the equation?
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A couple weeks ago my family drove over to Moab, Utah to go to Arches National Park. Between Mack, Colorado and the turn-off for Moab there is a lonely 50 mile stretch of I-70 with absolutely no services, no gas stations, nothing but desert. The guys all rode in one car, the girls in the other (and we split the kids between us). About 20 miles into the desert my wife calls us from the other car and says, “the gas gauge is on empty.” It’s twenty miles back and thirty miles forward. We went forward. She ran out of gas five miles from the exit. I stayed with the stranded car while they went to get gas. We paid $3.79 a gallon for that precious fuel. Ouch!
Refueling will keep you from being stranded on the side of the road in the desert!
Refueling will keep you from paying an exorbitant price to get going again!
Richard, Pastor V.P. shared a similar story on his way to Oklahoma. His son was driving and was confident that he could drive all the way in from the hotel where they had stayed the night. When they got to the exit they were supposed to get off, the exit was closed for construction. Then the next couple of exits were closed. They were able to get off without running out of gas, with the car on empty, but it taught a valuable lesson. We can’t wait until we are on empty to refill, because the unexpected might wipe out our fuel storage.
It’s not only spiritual or physical refueling that I need, but an attitude top-off. The hardest thing to do is have a good and joyous attitude when everything around seems like it’s fallin’ down. It might be the hardest thing to do, but it’s also the most rewarding.
Thanks for fillin’ my tank up today.
I think so many can relate to that.
Hey Larry!
Interesting timing for me on this post. I just wrote yesterday about making time to get away for prayer, about the importance of focusing just on God, away from everything else. Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/bYLxNC
Justapen at Ignition Point (http://bit.ly/coLQ2s) just wrote about avoiding distractions, specifically about not getting caught up in doing all of the time. We can’t do anything meaningful on our own steam. We can’t change ourselves, bring ourselves peace, or impact the world apart from the power of the Spirit working through us, and that means refueling.
And personally, I need to make time to refuel sometime during the day, rather than right at the end, when my body is worn out and in need of physical refueling. It makes it more difficult to be alert and focused as I’m praying and reading. This has been on my mind lately, and you and other bloggers are all reminding me today of how crucial this is. Thank you for the reminder!
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