Running on Empty

Running on Empty

“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
                                                                         Mark 2:27-28

In this age of cell phones, laptop computers and other electronic devices, we are constantly reminded that batteries go dead and have to be recharged or replaced. With my laptop, it can only go so long on a full charge before the warning light flashes telling me that, unless I take immediate action, it’s about to be unusable. On a trip to New York, the Buick can go about six hours, give or take, until it runs out of gas, and the lawn mower can make it through one full mowing before it does the same. Using up energy in the process of use, no matter what the situation, and the need to replenish it, is one of the easiest concepts to understand.

Maybe I should have said that it is one of the easier concepts to understand when it comes to everything but our physical bodies, emotional health, and spiritual strength. Plugging in and filling up are absolutes when the item being considered is made of nuts and bolts but for some reason we struggle with doing the same when it’s about us as individuals. We get too busy or tired to eat properly and replenish the nutrients our body needs to function properly (and yes family, I’m addressing this to myself too). We push ourselves to accomplish more and more, multi-tasking as if our life depended on it, without stopping to take a deep breath and recharge the internal, invisible batteries of our hearts.

Both spiritually and emotionally, we run our wells dry and try to function properly on a dead battery and an empty gas tank. That is why Jesus separating himself from his disciples to spend time in prayer and fellowship with the Father is such a great and necessary example for us today. No matter what needs He faced, and no matter how great the demands on Him were, He realized that more than anything He needed the strength and replenishing that came from His time spent with the Father. And despite the masses who needed the supernatural touch that only He could provide, Jesus was regularly found in the temple or synagogue spending time in God’s presence and in the Word.

His example reminds us that we have to move from where going to church is one more duty for us to perform to that place where we delight in the refreshing it provides. Our perspective has to include what Jesus said above that “the Sabbath was made for man”, a time set aside for man to refill – and that includes a healthy dose of God’s presence, a Texas sized portion of His Word, and several helpings of fellowship with those walking the same road that we are on.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church