When Your Soul Is Running on Empty

 

When Your Soul Is Running on Empty

Scripture

Matthew 22:37 (NLT)

Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”

Isaiah 32:15 (NLT)

Until at last the Spirit is poured out on us from heaven. Then the wilderness will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.

Psalm 119:105 (NLT)

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

Psalm 73:26 (NLT)

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.

Exodus 14:14 (NLT)

The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.

When We Are Simply Worn Out

Have you ever reached a place where you are just…tired?

Not the kind of tired that a good night's sleep fixes.

I mean soul tired.

Your schedule is full. Your mind won't shut off. There are bills to worry about, people who need you, decisions that have to be made, problems that don't seem to have answers, and sometimes you wonder how you are going to make it through one more day.

And before long, you realize you're running on empty.

I've been there.

Ross and I have walked through seasons where we wondered what tomorrow was going to look like. We've had days when we didn't have the answers, when circumstances were bigger than anything we could fix ourselves, and when all we could do was look at each other and say, “Well…we're going to have to trust God with this one.”

And isn't that where God often meets us?

Not when we have everything together.

Not when our faith feels strong.

Not when we have a ten-step plan.

Right in the middle of our weakness.

Psalm 73:26 says:

“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.”

There is something very comforting about that verse.

God doesn't tell us we will never become weak.

He tells us what happens when we do.

Sometimes We Really Are Empty

The Hebrew word used for “fail” in Psalm 73:26 is kalah. It carries the idea of being finished, spent, consumed, or completely exhausted.

In other words, the psalmist isn't saying, “I'm having a bad afternoon.”

He's saying, “I have nothing left.”

Have you ever been there?

Maybe you've cared for someone until you have nothing left to give.

Maybe you've prayed about the same situation so many times that you don't even know what else to say.

Maybe you've carried grief, financial stress, family problems, loneliness, disappointment, or fear for so long that your heart simply says, “I can't do this anymore.”

Friend, if that's where you are today, please hear this:

Being exhausted does not mean you have failed God.

Sometimes it simply means you're human.

But notice what comes next.

“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart.”

God doesn't expect us to manufacture strength we don't have.

He becomes our strength.

The Hebrew word tsur refers to a rock—a massive, solid, immovable place of refuge.

When everything inside of us feels shaky, God doesn't shake.

When our strength disappears, He doesn't disappear.

When we have nothing left, He is still our portion.

2. Sometimes the Most Faithful Thing We Can Do Is Stand Still

Exodus 14:14 says:

“The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

Think about the Israelites.

There was a sea in front of them and an army behind them.

They couldn't move forward.

They couldn't go backward.

And they certainly couldn't fix the situation themselves.

God's answer was not, “Try harder.”

It was:

“I will fight for you.”

Sometimes we spend so much energy trying to solve something God never asked us to solve.

We worry.

We replay conversations.

We imagine every possible disaster.

We try to control people and circumstances.

We lie awake at night trying to figure out tomorrow.

But there are moments when faith looks like putting down our sword and saying:

“God, I can't fix this. So I'm giving it to You.”

That isn't weakness.

That's surrender.

Ross and I have had to learn that one more than once.

There have been circumstances where we couldn't change the situation, couldn't make the money stretch any farther, couldn't see the road ahead, and couldn't figure out what God was doing.

But God kept teaching us something:

We don't have to know what He's doing to know that He's still God.

Sometimes we simply have to stand still.

And trust Him to fight the battle.

3. God Doesn't Always Show Us the Whole Road

Psalm 119:105 says:

“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

I love that God says His Word is a lamp.

A lamp doesn't light up the entire highway.

It gives you enough light to take the next step.

And honestly, that's often all we get.

We want God to show us the next five years.

He gives us today.

We want to know how everything is going to work out.

He says, “Trust Me with the next step.”

We want the whole map.

God says, “Follow the light I have already given you.”

And that's where obedience comes in.

We don't need to understand everything before we obey what God has already told us.

If He says forgive—then forgive.

If He says love—then love.

If He says wait—then wait.

If He says go—then go.

If He says trust Me—then trust Him.

We take the next step.

Then the light reaches a little farther.

And we take another step.

4. God Can Turn a Wilderness Into a Garden

Isaiah 32:15 gives us one of the most beautiful pictures of God's restoration:

“Until at last the Spirit is poured out on us from heaven. Then the wilderness will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.”

The Hebrew word ruach means breath, wind, or spirit.

Think about that.

The same God who breathed life into creation can breathe life into a heart that feels dead and dry.

The place that once looked barren can become fruitful.

The place where you thought nothing could grow can begin producing something beautiful.

That's what God does.

He doesn't always remove the wilderness immediately.

Sometimes He changes what the wilderness produces.

Our hardest seasons can produce compassion.

Our disappointments can produce wisdom.

Our waiting can produce patience.

Our weakness can teach us dependence.

Our suffering can make us more sensitive to someone else's pain.

And suddenly we look back and realize:

God was growing something in us the whole time.

Ross and I certainly wouldn't choose every hard road we've walked.

But we can look back and see places where God took something painful and somehow used it for something good.

Especially our years of homelessness,  God used that to humble us and prepare us for our God given purpose! Amen!

That's what redemption looks like.

God takes barren ground and says,

“Let Me grow something here.”

5. And Then He Brings Us Back to Love

After all of this—after the exhaustion, the battles, the waiting, the wilderness, the weakness, the learning to trust—Jesus brings us back to the most important thing.

Love God.

Matthew 22:37 says:

“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”

The Greek word for love here is agapaō.

It isn't simply a warm feeling.

It is a love that chooses.

A love that remains.

A love that says:

“God, even when I don't understand You, I choose You.”

That's the kind of love that gets us through the desert.

We don't love God only when life is good.

We love Him when the answer hasn't come yet.

We love Him when we're tired.

We love Him when we're afraid.

We love Him when our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling.

We love Him when we don't understand the road we're walking.

And sometimes the most powerful prayer we can pray is simply:

“Lord, I don't understand this, but I still trust You.”

You Don't Have to Have It All Together

Maybe you're reading this today and you're exhausted.

Maybe you're in your own wilderness.

Maybe you're facing a battle you don't know how to win.

Maybe you're wondering how you're going to make it through another day.

Please remember this:

You don't have to have enough strength for the whole journey.

You only need enough strength for the next step.

God will provide the rest.

When your heart fails—He is your Rock.

When the battle is too big—He will fight for you.

When you can't see the road—His Word will light your next step.

When your soul feels dry—His Spirit can breathe new life into you.

And when He restores you, He doesn't restore you simply so you can become busier.

He restores you so you can love Him with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.

So today, don't worry about tomorrow.

Don't try to carry next week's burdens today.

Take the step God has put in front of you.

Stand still when He tells you to stand still.

Walk when He tells you to walk.

Trust when you don't understand.

And let God do what only God can do.

Your wilderness is not your final destination.

The God who met you in the desert is the same God who can make that barren ground bloom.

And if you're running on empty today, remember:

Empty hands are perfect hands for receiving from God.

Let Him fill you.

Let Him strengthen you.

Let Him lead you.

And let Him love you right where you are.

Heavenly Father,

There are days when we are simply worn out.

Our bodies are tired, our minds are overwhelmed, and sometimes our hearts feel like they have nothing left to give.

Lord, forgive us for trying to carry things You never asked us to carry.

Teach us to stand still when You tell us to stand still.

Teach us to trust You when we cannot see the way forward.

Give us enough light for the next step, and enough strength for today.

When our hearts grow weak, be our Rock.

When we are walking through a wilderness, pour out Your Spirit and breathe new life into the dry places within us.

Help us to stop trying to control everything and start trusting the One who holds everything.

And above all, help us love You with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind.

Thank You for never leaving us alone in the desert.

Thank You for fighting battles we cannot fight.

Thank You for carrying us when we cannot carry ourselves.

We give You our worries, our fears, our exhaustion, and our future.

We trust You, Lord.

In Jesus' precious name,

Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

And the power,

And the glory, forever.

Amen.

BELIEVE, OBEY, BE BLESSED.

AMEN.

BOBBA ❤️

Love, Penny 💛