“The gas light just came on,” Lynne whispered to me. Our son Chris was sleeping in the back seat. I glanced at the dashboard, and sure enough, the low fuel indicator light was on. This was long before our instrument panel told us how far we could travel before empty. We had left a going-away party in Southern California and were driving through a desolate stretch of high desert when the light came on. I tried to remain calm, but we hadn’t seen any signs of a gas station ahead. We breathed a collective sigh of relief when we finally saw a funky old gas station up ahead.

My current gas gauge is weird. At half full, it says I still have 250 miles until empty, but 100 miles later, it’s telling me a different story. You are probably smarter than this, but I used to try to see how close to zero I could get before I stopped to refuel. It only took one occasion of the engine stalling and having to coast onto the shoulder for me to learn my lesson.

We do something similar in our spiritual life. We ignore some of the warning signs of “low fuel.” Life isn’t as joyful as it once was. Ministry work becomes more labor than a labor of love. Scripture tells us we’re to “not grow weary of doing good” (Galatians 6:9 ESV), but we are weary. There are a number of things that can generate a spiritual “low fuel” light, but I want to address just two of them.

First, my “low fuel” light comes on when I am spiritually famished. We pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11 ESV), but then we don’t sit down at the table of the Lord’s presence to receive it. Here’s the thing. When we sit at the table for our daily bread, we need to open the door and invite Jesus in. He will not intrude without an invitation. Jesus tells us, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20 ESV). The handle to the door is on my side. When I open to Him and say, “Come Lord Jesus,” He enters in, bringing me the bread of life, my daily bread. Because it is “daily bread,” I have to extend that invitation daily. If you don’t eat for a few days, you are going to struggle through the day. If you don’t receive your “daily bread,” you are going to struggle spiritually.

The second reason for my “low fuel” light is the result of overloading the car, which decreases the mileage. The Apostle Paul tells us, “For every man shall bear his own burden” (Galatians 6:5 KJV). The ESV translates burden as “load.” In today’s vernacular, we would say you have to “carry your own weight.” The problem is that the cares and struggles of our journey are adding rocks to our backpacks. We tell ourselves to “suck it up,” but we end up spiritually burdened and carrying more than God intended. Jesus gives us the solution. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV).

I was given a hybrid rental car once on vacation. I didn’t realize it was a hybrid until I saw the “miles to empty” was quite a bit more than when I left the airport. If I am wise, I will come and put on Jesus’ yoke at the start of my day. If you want to get a lot more mileage out of your spiritual tank, do the “hybrid” thing with His yoke. His yoke is easy, and his burden is light. The mileage in your spiritual fuel tank will take you farther than you could imagine!

What say ye, Man of Valor?

Semper Fidelis!