Running on Empty

I am a runner and some mornings I feel like I just don’t have the stamina to make it over one more hill. It’s difficult not only physically but mentally as well. I just want to give up and walk. I feel like the title to the old Jackson Brown album, Running on Empty. When I am in that place the more I try to push myself the more I just want to quit. It’s incredibly frustrating and a huge challenge.

After Jesus’ death the disciples surely must have felt the same way. After all, they had placed all of their hope and dreams in this man and his teachings. They witnessed his miracles and courage in the face of the Jewish leadership. They didn’t want him to die. They simply didn’t understand Jesus’ teachings and prophecy. Therefore these devout men wanted to quit. They were “running on empty.” Their spirits were crushed and lost. They had a gapping hole in their soul that Jesus had filled with the hope of glory. Now they were lost and confused. They had no spiritual stamina left, so they hid out in secret places for fear of the Jews. Gone was their confidence and spiritual life. Many returned to their old jobs as if nothing had ever happened. But the fact is, it did happen to them, they experienced God in Christ and that changed their lives forever. Yet still, the situation turned out to be far different than they anticipated. Their spirits were left running on empty.

Think about it for a moment. In our cars when we realize we have little gas and are running on empty, that creates anxiety. We ask ourselves, “Do I have enough gasoline in the tank to make it to the next service station? Or will I run out and become stranded?” The disciples felt spiritually stranded, as we often do as well.

There are times in our personal spiritual lives in which we feel like we are running on empty. Perhaps life has dealt us several serious set backs and we feel overwhelmed by the effects. Perhaps our prayer life has gone silent and we feel cut off from God. Or perhaps we just are spiritually weary due to living life on life’s terms and we feel like we can’t make it over one more hill.  

We’ve all been in this spiritually desolate place at one time or another. Life becomes a living chore and we trudge through our day. This is why prayer is so important to our spiritual lives, even when we don’t feel like we are accomplishing any thing. Like running, we just have to keep pushing and suddenly we find ourselves over that foreboding hill.

The spiritual life takes faith and stamina. It is not a race. It is often a slow methodical dance with God. We are going to experience those times of utter darkness, the Dark Night of the Soul. Is God there or has he taken leave of us? Of course God is in the emptiness of our spirits waiting to refuel our lives, but we must be patient in prayer. If we have to spiritually slow down and walk then that is all right. God is there. The important thing is that we not judge ourselves as failures and question God. We all have spiritual dry spells. Christ will come to us and bring us hope and renewal, just as he did the disciples. He will refill our tanks as we recognize him just as the disciples did in the breaking of the bread.

So it is important during those times when we feel like our spiritual lives are running on empty to slow down, and center ourselves. God is there waiting to fill us with joy, renewed faith and spiritual stamina. All we have to do is continue to have an open mind and heart. And out there on our spiritual Roads to Emmaus we will encounter that stranger who will tell us everything we have ever done. It is at that point we realize we have been in the living presence of the risen Lord. Our spirits will be refreshed and renewed. Just don’t give up before the miracle happens.