Empty Gas Tank
I want to share a little story of a recent life event. God used it to speak to me about the fact that
it is never too late to step into the call of God on our lives. It doesn’t matter how old we are, or how long
we have procrastinated or how many times we feel that we have dropped the
ball. God has a way of making it
possible for us to “redeem” the time because He is more concerned that we are
moving, than He is that we have arrived.
I had to travel to a meeting that was about an hour and a
half from my house. When I got into my
car, I noticed that the gas gauge was on empty.
The light was on and there was no way I could go to my meeting without
stopping on the way for gas. The problem
was, I live out in the country. I did
not know if I should fill up at the nearest gas station, which was in the
opposite direction I needed to travel, thereby making myself late for the
meeting, or chance that I had enough gas to get to the station that was on my
way.
My car happens to have an indicator that tells me how much
gas I have left, and how many miles I can expect to travel, given certain
criteria. If you drive the car fast and
hard, the mileage goes down considerably.
If you drive the car in a low gear, the same thing happens. Before moving, I noticed I could go 40 miles
on the current amount of gas in the tank.
I began to drive up
the long hill from my house to the main road.
I watched the mileage indicator go from 40 to 35 by the time I got to
the top of the hill. At the top of the
hill is a spectacular view looking over the valley and the sunset was spectacular. I was so enthralled, that I pulled over to
look, forgetting I was idling the car and using up more gas. When I looked at the indicator, I noticed I
had only 30 miles left that I could travel.
I was wondering if I would have enough gas to get to the station. I knew from experience that once I got going,
the numbers would increase with the speed I traveled, the conditions of the
road and the gear I was using, but I did not expect the dramatic life
application.
As I headed down the country road and shifted into the
cruising speed, I began to gain potential miles. Pretty soon, I noticed I could drive 45 miles
on the gas remaining in my tank. At the
end of the country road, I joined a four lane road and I could travel faster,
shifting into fifth gear. This allowed
me to drive more efficiently, and the potential mileage increased to 60 and
65. Remember…I am using up the gas in my
tank while driving, but I am getting better and better mileage because of how I
am using the gas, and the conditions I am traveling in. I no longer had any doubt that I would reach
the station.
I began to wonder at what point I would see a reversal of
the potential mileage as it increased more and more the farther I drove. I never got the answer to my question, because
at the point where I reached the gas station, my indicator said I could go
another ninety miles!
So, it doesn’t matter how much gas is left in my tank or how
many years I have left. It just matters
that I continue the process of stepping into my identity and into the dreams God
has for me. Some of us who are older do
not have the same distractions we had when we were younger and we have learned
a lot of life lessons that are useful in this process. We know how to overcome obstacles because we
have a lot of practice in some areas.
As we allow ourselves to start our engines again, there will
be some shifting to get up to our cruising speed, but once there, God will
cause us to operate with an efficiency that will amaze us. We have enough gas in the tank to take us all
the way into what God has for us, even if the indicator light tells us
differently! (Remember the loaves and
the fishes—God is a God of multiplication.) We have enough grace to finish
whatever God has given us a dream for.
Once we get up to our cruising speed, something supernatural
takes over, enabling us to go the distance with ease. I am experiencing the favor of God in new
ways as I just keep moving ahead. I think
that is the real key. Just keep moving
and favor and grace will be attracted to us to give us that finishing
anointing.
