What to Do When You Are Running on Empty
Do you ever feel empty? Exhausted? I do. We all face seasons of life when we are severely stretched. Ministry and family demands pile up and suddenly you realize you are “running on empty.”
God desires us to live life full, not run on fumes. He wants us to experience His goodness and have it overflow to those around us. When we live full, Jesus “rubs off” on those we come in contact with. They sense His Presence and love.
The secret to staying full is being rooted and established in His love.
Storms Will Blow
It is the season of spring storms here in Asia. The other night a big one blew through. Powerful winds took down signs and affected power lines. We looked out our window and watched the trees whipped back and forth. Not all of them survived the storm. Some of them were uprooted and hurled across the road by the wind. It was kind of scary to watch and we were glad to be inside our house while this was happening.
The depth of our root system in God matters greatly when we face life’s storms. If we have deep roots no matter how strong the winds, we will not be thrown. A few limbs may break off and there may be external damage, but we will survive and new branches will grow.
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:16-19
3 Ways to Establish Your Spiritual Root System
1) Track Your Inner Life
The Ephesians passage is Paul’s prayer for the believers in Ephesus. He prayed that God would strengthen them in their “inner being.” Sometimes we get so busy in ministry and work. We don’t even notice what is happening in our hearts. It is important to get quiet before the Lord and take the temperature. What is happening inside? How am I doing?
I use several tools to help me do this. One is a Daily Examen. If you’ve never tried this ancient spiritual practice, I’d encourage you to find out more about it. As you reflect back over your day, ask yourself where you experienced God’s grace and goodness. In the Examen, you also check your responses. It’s part of noticing and seeing yourself and God in the day that has gone by.
Another tool I use is called an Emotional Jug. What am I feeling today? What am I mad, sad, scared and glad about? It is easy to suppress our emotions and not make space to allow ourselves to feel. This can cause us to get depressed. Take care of yourself. Be a good friend to yourself and ask yourself “How are you doing today?” Then really listen. This will help you track your “inner life.”
2) Meditate on His Unconditional Love- Soak in It
As the Ephesians prayer states, His incredible love for us is our source of strength and life. It is important to regularly meditate on and receive His love. Soak in it. Let it be personal.
We recently celebrated Easter. Did you take time to reflect personally on how deeply Jesus loves you? He loved enough to die for you, to suffer for you, to do whatever it takes. What is it like to have a friend who loves you like that? Who steps in to “take a bullet” so you can live instead of him.
How valuable and cherished you are!
We know God loves us and we know of His love. We need to let it stay personal and real in our lives though. “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so…” is a favorite song of children around the world. That is because there is so much truth in it! Let the little boy or little girl inside of you receive that afresh today.
What aspect of His love means the most to you?
3) Make Room to Be “Wowed” by Your Lover
A speaker named Jay taught at one of our retreats some years ago. He talked about receiving the kisses of God. Let God show you His love in small but special ways. How has Jesus been extra good to you this past week? Giving you something small in your day that only He could know you really needed?
I love beautiful flowers and roses. My husband is good to buy those for me occasionally. When he does, it means so much to me. I put them in a lovely vase on my desk or dining room table and enjoy looking at them throughout the day.
One morning as I was praying, I heard the still small voice of Jesus say, “I would fill a whole room with roses for you, my love.” I let myself imagine what that would be like. If He did that, filled the entire room with hundreds and hundreds of gorgeous roses, how would I feel? That would be so extravagant and expensive! My husband could never afford to do that for me. My Jesus could and would! Wow. I was in awe of His great love for me.
That illustration might not mean much to you, but it meant a lot to me! Jesus knows how to love us in the particular and unique way we need to be loved by him.
What do you need Him to do to show you His love? To bring back the awe and amazement in your relationship with Him again. Why not ask God to show you His love today in some special and unique way that would be very personal for you?
I know He would be delighted to do that. He loves to lavish His love upon us – His beloved ones.
Are You Living Full?
As we are filled afresh with His great love, as we draw near in our love relationship with Him again, we are strengthened in our inner self. We receive what we need to live well, to live full. Overflow happens and people see Jesus in us. The unreached around us “smell” his fragrance on us and are drawn to Him.
Would you pray this prayer with me?
Jesus, I want to abide in your love. I want my roots to go down deep so when the storms of life come, I will stand firm. Show me again today how much You love me. Let me notice, let me recognize Your goodness and Your “kisses.” Lift the heaviness from my heart and let my soul delight in how much You love and desire me. And let that joy and fullness overflow to those who need Your healing touch today. Amen.