Have you been there? You're driving along, heading down the road as usual and then it happens - your engine just quits. There's no power and no amount of turning it over will start it - you're out of gas. It had plenty the last time you checked but it's been too long since the last time.
In Judges 16:20, Samson jumps up to face the Philistines as he had so many times before with the Spirit of the Lord empowering him. But he didn't know he was running on empty - "he did not know that the Lord had left him."
While revealing the secret of his strength that lay in his Nazarite vow, which forbade cutting his hair gave Delilah the opportunity to fully deplete him of his power, it was only the end result of his steady emptying of the Spirit of God that began as he started to turn away from his vow to a path of wine, women and very foolish and prideful behavior. He was already running on empty - the cutting of his locks was just the last sputter.
If we allow sin to begin to creep into our lives, if we begin choosing to disobey God, if we refuse to make things right with one we offend, if we stop carving out time of personal devotion or quiet time, we begin to lose the vitality of the Sporit.
Your lack of vitality may not be crying out for attention. But answers to your prayers don't come like they used to. Your life once brought reconciliation but now you're having troubles in your relationships. People who used to turn to you for help fid that you have a neglible impact on them or maybe even harmful.
You are still a believer, you still attend church services, you haven't removed the Christian bumper sticker from your car. But still, things aren't the same. You were really on fire for the Lord at one time but you haven't given it much thought or attention in a while. Life has been changing but in which direction? Have you been filling up your spiritual tank with devotion and service to the Lord or have you been siphoning it off in self-interest? Is your tank full or are you running on empty?
Jus' Askn.
Hello Dr. D,
ReplyDeleteI am looking to run an 8-week Bible Study on this topic: "Is Your Tank Full?" (or, are you running on empty?) Can you suggest a study help already created? I am looking to focus on the general theme of "getting God back into your life". The study will be focused on men (not geared for female participants) to promote 1:"Fellowship" (sharing the burden, build trust), 2:Dwelling upon the Word of the Lord (Reading and letting the Bible explain itself). 3:Prayer (Acclamation of God, Confession to God, Thanking God for his Blessings upon us, then "supplication" as in asking for God's "help" in accordance with His Will) and 4:Worship (where the three previous are already forms of worship)
Do you know of such a Bible Study? wweist at us dot imshealth dot com.