My Tank is Empty

The juggle of church, homelife, work, and trying to keep it all together can sometimes come crashing down around us. The moments of outburst, letting responsibilities slip, or even missing church events. I am not giving you a reason to be angry, messy, and not go to church functions, but I am saying that it is OK! It is okay to take a moment and breathe. It is okay to miss one event. It is okay to take time for yourself. God cares about our hearts' state more than our to-do list. 
Imagine the car of your dreams, a minivan with the features of a GT Mustang convertible. It's your imagination to have fun with it. This car is always on the road, and music is always playing. After several miles, and depending on your imaginary mileage intake, your car will eventually need gas. If the battery is running, and the car doesn't have gas, it will not move. That is just like us, our mind (battery) can tell us that we can keep moving, keep doing, but until we fill our spiritual tank, we will not be able to advance ourselves in the kingdom of God.
Just showing up
God does the work for u; we are not capable of doing anything on our own. Meditate on that. Can you feel the weight of the world roll off your shoulders? It is not up to us to complete the work. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Did catch it. He prepared it. All we have to do is be willing to work for the LORD, show up, and He has already prepared it for us. 
I have witnessed this firsthand. For those of you who don't know me, I am not a fan of public speaking, but the Lord puts me in situations where I have to speak in front of crowds. My church has a program for children, where, before the church starts, an adult gives a three to five-minute lesson on a scripture. I usually try to pass the torch to other willing participants, but this Sunday, the person who was supposed to speak forgot. We did not have a backup plan, so I, being in charge of this ministry, stepped up. This was not an easy task for me, because I was unprepared, I wasn't mentally ready, and honestly, I was scared to the point that I was shaking. My hands were sweaty, vibrating, my throat dry, afraid, and on top of that, I had no plan. 
I had five minutes until I had to get in front of the entire church and teach all of these kids something. Anything, my mind goes blank. I began to pray, and as soon as the music stopped, God laid this beautiful message on me about what is on the inside of our hearts, as shown on the outside. Everyone clapped, and I even received compliments after the service, but God did the work, not me. I simply showed up and trusted Him to do the work. When we spend more time in our personal devotion with the LORD, we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. This requires dedication, consistency, and authenticity. God wants us to come to him with an open heart, pouring out our needs before Him, so that He can work in and through our lives.  
When the ceiling falls
What do we do when life seems too much to handle? When we try to balance it all, it's overwhelming. I like to think about Peter; we all know the story, and if you don't, go read Matthew 14. ( I'll wait) Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus. We all look at the fact that he failed and started to sin, and Jesus "scooped" him up, but what we miss is that He stepped out of the boat. He took steps in the storm. He tried. He focused on Jesus and not the waves around him. When everything is crashing down, we can think. I can't, and the sad truth is that you are right. You can't! But the fact that we all leave out is that God can. God put us in this situation for His glory to be seen. Matthew Henry said it this way: " God sometimes raises difficulties in the way of His people, that He may have the glory subduing them, and helping His people over them." God allowed the roof of your life to come crashing down so that you will draw closer to Him. He is in control of all, not just the good. 
What to pray
When things happen, we often wonder what to do now. We know we should pray, and maybe we do, but it seems our prayers are not urging God to work fast enough. That is because they don't. Prayer is to change our minds to understanding God's will for us, not for Him to work on our timetable. God works in His perfect timing, so that the best outcome for His glory can take place, and when we pray over a situation, it is not to change God's timing. He knows, He caresses, and He is there with you, but what He wants is for us to continue to look to Him. Just like Peter,  focusing His eyes on Jesus, He advanced slowly through the waves, but persistently. God wants us to draw closer to Him in our trials because we know we need Him. This will lead to trust and a renewing of our minds to rely more easily on Christ when situations that seem impossible arise. God wants us to suffer so that our faith will grow and our trust in Him will be unshakeable. He wants our love for Him to flow above our situations so that, just as Job did, we will glorify His name with our actions, believing He is good and wants the best for us. 
Believe today
 I hope this encourages you to know that God is good. God will provide for you in His timing. He wants you to succeed and have an abundant life. I personally have faced this challenge in my own life this week. I felt like my dominoes of life all came down around me. I know how the struggle to not let our situations define our emotions can be difficult. God has a plan, a purpose, and an outcome for your hardship already in the works. Keep looking to Him for the strength and confidence to keep going. Believe that He will provide. He will give you peace that surpasses everything you are going through for His glory. Amen. God is on your side, and so are we. I hope you will be strengthened in knowing you are not alone in this battle of life, but God has won the war. Don't let one defeat stop you from showing up for the Lord. Change your perspective to be God-focused, and even when the trials come, cause they will, He will be with you through them and pull you out because He placed you there for His glory to shine in the midst of it all.