RUNNING ON EMPTY

We’ve all been there. Bumper to bumper traffic, we’re running late, and the gas gauge needle is hovering dangerously close to the E. We tighten our grip on the steering wheel and pray that we can make it to the next available gas station and not be stranded on the side of the road. The engine sputters. Why didn’t we take time to stop and fill up earlier? Why didn’t we pay closer attention to the gauge? Other motorists are honking at us to get out of their way as we steer toward the shoulder as the engine dies all together. Now we’re at the mercy of whomever might stop to “rescue” us. Not a fun place to be.

Have you ever read those scriptures that describe being filled with God’s Spirit or filled with joy, and thought, “Wow! That’s the way I want to be.” One of my favorite scriptures is Ephesians 3:17-19. When I first read and pondered those words – “…that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” my mind staggered. How can we be filled with all of God’s fullness here on earth where we are bombarded with distractions and carnal influences? Trading worldly chaff for the treasure of God’s presence is the desire of most Christians. So why is it that we find it such a struggle?

Emptiness is traditionally associated with despair. Humanly speaking, we tend to think that being empty carries the connotation of being poor, broke, hopeless, unloved, forgotten, and alone. Emptiness indicates weakness and vulnerability. But in God’s eyes, being empty is an optimal condition.

Carrying around emotional baggage means our hands and hearts are too full to receive. A vessel that is already full of some substance can’t be used to contain anything else—it’s already full. In the book of 2nd Kings, the prophet Elisha encountered a widow in despair. All she had left in the house was a small jar of oil. Elisha’s instructions probably raised the widow’s eyebrows. Elisha directed her to gather all the vessels she could find—EMPTY vessels—and he admonished her, “Do not gather just a few.” Then he told her to take that small amount of oil that she had left and begin pouring it out into all the empty vessels she had collected. What? That doesn’t make any sense. But she complied and began pouring out all that she had and God filled every single vessel. But the blessing didn’t happen until she was willing to pour out what she had.

If we desire to be filled with joy, filled with the Spirit, and filled with all the fullness of God, we must first be emptied. Pour out the worthless things—your strength, your pride, your position, your status, your pretense—and offer up your emptiness to God. Being empty isn’t a shameful thing. Emptiness means availability,
for if we are emptied of ourselves, only then can we be filled to overflowing with those things that God desires to pour out for us. His blessings can never be contained. So as you empty yourself, gather all the vessels you can, and don’t gather just a few. God is waiting to fill you with all the fullness of Himself.

Thanks for letting me share my heart.