RUNNING ON EMPTY

by | Mar 22, 2023 | Prophetic | 5 comments

Whenever a personal life or a nation attempts to run on empty the outcome is never positive until an intervention takes place.

Over the years I have spoken to people who were feeling tired and drained due to the demands of a busy season of life. They would ask me for another set of eyes to see how their priorities and schedule could be readjusted to ensure long-term health. I would suggest a few practical self-care adjustments to help them fill back up their depleted spiritual and emotional reserves.

The need to make necessary adjustments is not limited to the long-term health of our personal lives.  They impact our families, communities, and even how our government is run.

Take, for example, the United States. We have something called a Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This is a fuel reserve our nation holds back to take care of our national fuel needs in times of war, natural disaster, or any unforeseen threat that affects the stability of our nation. Our Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been drawn down 40% in the last two years without resupply, a decision driven by politics, not wisdom. If this keeps up, we will be unable to supply our strategic fuel needs when a crisis, natural or manmade, appears.

We were given inflation numbers that do not include fuel or food costs. The inflated costs of food and fuel are where people feel the greatest financial pinch, especially working families and those on fixed incomes. These tweaked inflation numbers are offered to us to create an illusion that all is well when it is obviously not. The effect of these inflated numbers is draining the savings of Americans increasing the number of people who are now living paycheck to paycheck.

Billions of dollars are being sent to fund the war in Ukraine, a government by most standards considered one of the most corrupt nations in Europe. This corruption does not reference the poor people of Ukraine who are suffering from the horrors of war. The billions of dollars of military aid we are sending are not being audited. A portion of those funds is being used to support their national infrastructure while ours is collapsing. Even the pensions of some Ukrainians will be paid while millions of Social Security recipients in America are being told there will not be enough money in our system to fulfill the promises made to hard-working Americans who paid into the system all their lives. A draining of resources, both natural and economic, is taking place in our nation. 

When hell is at work, all aspects of life will begin to drain and eventually become empty. At some point, we will reach the bottom where a harsh reality will look us squarely in the face and we will finally realize we have allowed people void of common sense and integrity to lead us to a place of despair.  The only brightness in these dark scenarios will be the ability for people to see the hope found only in Jesus Christ.

Don’t let an out-of-touch theologian who speaks to you from the isolation of a wood-paneled personal library or a political pundit who fawns before a news camera inform us of what constitutes our reality. Reality is what people feel and experience, not the illusions we are told to believe that will lead us to an empty place of despair. A life of faith requires wisdom and the application of commonsense to function properly.  Without it, we will find ourselves drained, empty, and without hope.

5 Comments

  1. Diane

    The only part of this post I disagree with is that most Americans haven’t “allowed” the horrific “leadership” we have been subjected to. It was forced on us! Trump (common sense!) won! This evil dictator did NOT! Faith in God is key to finding peace in this situation too, of course.

    Reply
  2. Katherine

    Believing for an intervention on every level; not without pain, but still with a hope for our children and their children…

    Reply
  3. John J Anderson

    Be bold and courageous!

    Reply
  4. Kevin

    Wisdom and common sense. 2 good tools to have. Especially these days.

    Reply
  5. Kevin

    Diane, totally agree with what you said. Blessings to all.

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *