When you get in your car to go somewhere, you turn the ignition key. This sends an electrical current to the spark plug which emits a spark. The spark ignites the gas which explodes and the engine fires up. But in order for the engine to fire up, the battery needs to be charged, the gas tank needs to be full of gas and the engine needs to be full of oil.
Many of us in our Christian lives want to go places for God, but we’ve got nothing to run on. We need to be filled with Holy Ghost oil, we need our batteries charged and our tanks filled with gas! God wants us to be Christians who live and minister out of an overflow of His Spirit. He wants us to be supercharged believers! Believers who are plugged into the Source of all power!
Romans 12:11 tells us “Don’t burn out, keep yourselves fueled and aflame.” Many of God’s people get excited, they get full of zeal for the the things of God and they begin to run with passion for God. That’s a wonderful thing, but it’s so important to make sure you’re not running on empty. Jesus took time out from His busy ministry schedule to rest and spend time in communion with His Father. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is rest!
Sometimes we can push ourselves beyond our limits, burn out, and then blame God for what happened. God doesn’t want you to burn out. He wants you to be fueled and on fire, moving in His direction and in His timing and getting the rest you need along the way.
I have spent time studying many of the great revivals. One of the greatest in modern Church history was the Welsh revival. In the early 1900s in Wales a mighty revival shook the nation and one hundred thousand people were swept into the Kingdom of God. The impact on the culture and society was palpable. The revival in large part was spearheaded and carried by a young preacher named Evan Roberts.
Evan Roberts was so consumed and caught up with this revival he would be up in the early hours of the morning on a daily basis. He got caught up in the excitement of what was happening and he pushed himself. Eventually it all caught up with him and he burned out. The revival began to wane and dissipate at this point. Who knows how much more could have happened if this young Evangelist had paced himself, and allowed himself to get recharged and get the rest he needed.
Ephesians 5:18 tells us “Don’t be drunk with wine, which leads to ruin, but be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Many use this passage to focus on the issue of drinking, but the same amount of imperative weight in this passage is given to the requirement to be filled with the Holy Spirit as there is to avoid excessive drinking.
Did you know there is a biblical requirement for you to be filled with the Holy Spirit? It’s not an optional extra for your Christian life. We’re not talking about Holy Ghost goosebumps at a meeting from time to time; we’re talking about a biblical mandate for your life. Why, because God wants you to run on full. God wants you to walk in His love, blessing and the fullness of all He has and He doesn’t want you burning out.
The Bible says in Zechariah 4:6, “not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.” We can think sometimes we are doing great things for God, but if it is in our own strength and at the expense of our health, our lives and our families, then it’s just not worth it.
Allow the Spirit of God to fill your heart and life afresh today. Determine within yourself to do things in God’s strength and not your own. Today I want to challenge you it is not the will of God for you to burn out, it is the will of God for you to be filled up and to burn up with the Spirit of God!
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