There are two kinds of people in this world; those who never let their gas go below the ½ tank line and those who challenge the laws of gas fumes. I used to cringe when my fuel tank would get below ½ tank and would NEVER allow it to go below ¼. This may be because growing up in Michigan there was the fear it might freeze in the winter. But now that I am 37 for the fourth year in a row and I live in North Carolina, I treat my gas tank like a game of limbo. How low can it go? How low can it go?

If you were asked to list all the things you have to do right now, how long would that list be? We all have current tasks, everyday household tasks, and long term tasks constantly running amuck in our heads. 

Once we jump on the hamster wheel it is often hard to get off and before you know it, you too are challenging the laws of running on gas fumes. 

We are not alone. In 1 Kings 17 we find a widow in Zaraphath who was also surviving on very little. 

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

Do you hear her pain? This is her last meal. 

But do you also hear yourself in her words? “I don’t have time to join another club or small group.” “I don’t have time for another friendship.” “I don’t have time to serve.” “I don’t have enough money to tithe.” “My plate is full.” 

13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

This is not a promise that you won’t ever feel like you are on” empty.” 

It is time to allow God to fill your fuel tank. Is God calling you to do something? The truth is there will always be a million things (even “good” things) distracting you. But when we step into obedience and say, “yes” even when it doesn’t feel like we can, things change.

You might feel like you don’t have enough to give, but if God is calling you to it, He will always fill your energy tank.