#84 Empty Tank

Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Coming to Michigan was an adjustment for our family at first. As with any major regional change in one's life, there are different things you have to grow accustom to. Yes, the amount of snowfall was new to us, the flatness of the scenery took some getting used to, and the type of heat used up here was different than what we had normally had.

Our house was heated by an outdoor wood furnace that heats water that is then pumped under ground through special pipes into the house through a radiator where air is blown through to push warm air throughout the house. This system is shared with our landlords. Last year the wood was changed over to corn and pellets and each works very well to provide heat for both homes. When the outdoor stove is not in operation we have propane backup which also serves to heat our water throughout the year.

That propane tank is not high on my watch list and sometimes I do not think to check the gas level for months. Well, if you don't check the gas level you may not realize that it is about to run out. However, the system has a built-in feature that serves to alert you when the gas runs out. Yes, you guessed it; the alert comes in the form of seemingly icy cold water from the hot water side of the faucet. Not paying attention to the gas level can be painfully cold until the gas company can come out and refill the tank. Note to self: check propane tank every month!

Of course you and I have tanks that need to be checked too. We have emotional tanks, physical food "tanks", and we have a spiritual tank believe it or not. Emotionally, we all want to feel needed and appreciated. Ultimately we want to feel valued by the people around us. Physically speaking we have to fill our food tanks several times a day to maintain our bodies in good health.

I would suggest to you that out of our three "tanks" mentioned here the spiritual is the most important. Yes, we need to be emotionally healthy and we must have food to live, but if we attempt to live on an empty spiritual tank then our lives become very meaningless and hopeless. Those who attempt to live without the spiritual filling the Lord wants to provide for us often gravitate towards harmful things in an attempt to fill the void left in our soul that only Jesus can fill.

Have you checked your tank lately? Are you keeping a watchful eye on the state of your spiritual condition? Are you making time each day to commune with the God of heaven that His Spirit might fill you to overflowing? My challenge to you today is to make checking your spiritual tank daily part of your existence. If we seek the Lord while He may be found, He will take care of every need that we too might echo the psalmist who wrote "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."

Dear Father God,

We love You, and we praise You for Your goodness. Thank You for filling us each day that we seek You. Please keep us focused on serving, loving, and living for You each day till You come to take us home. We pray this in faith and in Jesus' holy name, Amen.