Running On 'E'

Running On 'E'

Do you ever find yourself running errands, taking the kids to play-dates, and heading to church and realize you’re running on ‘E’? I too often think, “I can make it another 20 miles – I know my car.” But then there is the time when you really DON’T know your car and you run out of gas. How similar are we spiritually to running on ‘E’?

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 3:19, “to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” God doesn’t want us to be running on ‘E’; to be so caught up with the things in this world that distract us from the purpose he has in store for us. On the other hand, we can get to the point where we are running on ‘E’ due to church responsibilities. Many of us know that the church is a busy place; events, activities, programs, Bible studies, Bible Quizzing, and often times you’ll see the same person(s) involved in many areas of ministry. It IS possible to become so drained from involvement in church that your tank springs a leak and all the sudden you’re on ‘E’.

God didn’t design one person to do everything, Ephesians 4:11-12, “And he gave SOME, apostles; and SOME, prophets; and SOME, evangelists; and SOME, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” not ONE person to preach, teach, evangelize, prophesy, run the sound booth, coach Quizzing, clean the church, sing in worship, play the drums, coordinate missions trips, write a blog, update the website, answer the phones, and be the greeter for visitors. We need to learn to share the load, and trust me I’m speaking to myself when I say, don’t take on too much.

There is a time and season for every thing, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, “to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” While there is a time for everything, let’s not rush it all into one time or you’ll rapidly find you’re running on ‘E’. Remind yourself often, the time to ‘build up’ can be the time to fill up!

-Written By Meghan West