Fueling Up

“ Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the water, and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me and eat what is good, and you will take delight in the richest of fare.“. Isaiah 55:1-2

It is in this moment of our deepest hunger and thirst that, instead of feeding our human, tangible hunger, we have to dig deeper to the real source of our need.

Physical hunger is a true human need and feeling. But we were made to be fueled by not only food and water, but also fueled by God’s life and love. We were made for more. He’s the only thing that can truly, deeply satisfy our hunger and thirst, the deep down cravings and growling pains of emptiness. He is what we need to survive and thrive, to be nourished and hydrated fully.

Fueling our mouths and stomachs to overflow only leaves us bloated, overweight, lethargic, and still completely unsatisfied. When we aren’t fueling ourselves up with Him, we remain in need. We have all been there. Stuffing and stuffing and stuffing our pie hole, yet even though we can’t take one more bite, there’s still something missing that we can’t quite put our finger on. No amount of donuts or cheese fries or Starbucks can fuel and fill that gaping hole. None of it. No booze or pills or shopping sprees or social media scrolling can fill it. No Netflix binges or beach vacations or lake houses can satisfy completely. We were designed to crave HIM ….as He is the one that created us.

But we keep on eating and drinking and waiting, looking on the horizon for the white horse that’s going to ride up and rescue us. We seek the thing that’s finally going let us feel full and nourished. But at some point we have to wake up and realize that HE is the one and only thing. If we are sad or lonely or feeling pity on ourselves, it’s much easier to look for something earthly to shove in the hole. But we have to realize it, and recognize that HE is the white horse riding in to save us from ourselves and our self-destruction. No matter how messed up our lives, our finances, our health, our relationships are, it’s only HIM.

We have to partner with God to soothe the pain that we are in and truly heal. He is the ultimate party host – he has his table all laid out, spread with everything we need and all that we did not even realize we were hungry and thirsty for. We just have to show up to His party. He’s invited us with His beautiful invitation, complete with our name handwritten on it. We have to trust Him and realize it’s Him that we have to lean into, in this darkest of the moments, and to let Him lead us out.

Psalms 106:3 says, “how happy are those who uphold justice, who practice righteousness at all times.“ We can find happiness by looking in the righteous places. Coming to Him, not looking to the world to fuel us.

God, through the power of the Holy Spirit living in me, strengthen me when I need it most. Help me to focus on you in this time of uncertainty, darkness, sadness and loss. Give me the courage I need to keep looking to you – not food or drink or worldly distractions – for my source of leadership, guidance and comfort. Help me to let You take charge of my life, as I lean into completely trusting you, surrendering it all. Thank you for loving us as only you can. Fill the hole of emptiness inside. In Jesus Name, Amen