In these days of enormously high gas prices, I cringe to see my gas tank reach empty.  Even worse is the fact that if I run my gas tank out of fuel, Iʼll burn out the fuel pump, which costs much more than a tank of gas.  Thankfully, though, we have a fuel gauge that tells us when weʼre running on empty.

Did you know that our spiritual lives are like fuel tanks?  Sometimes we begin to run on empty.  How do you know?  Simply look at your fuel gauge.  When running on empty, our spiritual fuel gauge shows: hatred, depression, anxiety, impatience, rudeness, jealousy, self-pity, anger, bitterness, strife and selfishness.  When this happens itʼs time for a fill-up, but what are we to fill up on?

The Apostle Paul tells us to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).  More specifically, weʼre to be filled with the fruit of the Spirit, which is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control (Galatians 5:22, 23).  This is the fuel that our spiritual gas tanks desperately need before our spiritual fuel pumps burn out.

Now, thereʼs one last thing to consider.  In the same way our vehicles only run on pure fuel, so do our spiritual vehicles.  You canʼt fill your gas tank with a mixture of fuel and water – you just wonʼt get very far.  Filling your spiritual gas tanks with a mixture of the fruit of the Spirit and non-spiritual things wonʼt get you very far, either.

Paul said, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24, 25).