FUEL: What Makes You Go and What To Do So You Won’t Get Low

I don’t know about you, but I live with a very real tension in my life. It’s the tension between doing and being. And as Andy Stanley wrote in his YouVersion Devotional called Better Decisions. Fewer Regrets, we should “pay attention to the tension within.”

My strength wiring is all about “doing.” The theme of “Responsibility” is in my top 5 Clifton Strengths–and “Achiever” is number one. Add “Belief” in the mix and you’ve got someone who passionately believes in getting things done to the point of being driven. Labor Day is every day for me, literally, so I have to really be intentional about the “being” part of my life.

Someone said (I believe the Dalai Lama gets credit for it, according to my 10 second Google search), “We are human beings, not human doings.”

If we are going to DO, we’ve got to find FUEL. What makes you go? And what do you do when you get low?

I enjoy riding my 2007 Harley Davidson Softail motorcycle. I know how to ride it, but I know very little about it mechanically, except that I need to have the battery charged and I need fuel in the tank. That much I know. Everything else is handled by a guy named, Slade, who bills me $110 an hour plus parts.

Have I ever run out of gas? Who asked that? How could that ever happen? There is a fuel gauge! I am an educated man! Not once have I ever run out of gas!

Actually, I’ve run out of gas twice!

Why? I didn’t pay attention to the tension. I need to pay attention to my gas gauge and I need to believe and trust that when the warning light comes on, I shouldn’t just keep going.

But how often do we do that in our lives? We ignore the gauges and the warning lights. If we do it for too long, we pay a price.

We need FUEL to make us go!

What is fuel?

Literally, fuel is “A material used to produce heat or power by burning; a source of energy,” according to Merriam Webster.com.

Abstractly, fuel is “Anything that keeps people’s ideas or feelings active or makes them stronger,” according to the Cambridge Dictionary.

Where do you get your fuel?

Regardless of what makes you go, we all need a specific kind of fuel. It’s spiritual fuel.

Scripture fuels our being so we can get to the doing. It’s versatile. It’s practical. It’s directive and corrective. It’s a solution–not a supplement. Check out what the Scriptures say about the Scriptures.

“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV).

Stay thirsty, friends. You never have to limit your intake of God’s Word.

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go with God?” Psalm 42:1-2 (NIV).

“Look to the Lord and his strength (FUEL)–seek his face always” 1 Chronicles 16:11 (NIV).

“The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen (FUEL) those whose hearts are fully committed to him” 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV).

How’s your commitment level? My advice–make a plan to read and pray every day. Put it in your calendar. Set an alert or alarm. Don’t let your spiritual fuel run low. Without God’s Word, life is absurd. So fuel up by reading Scripture and praying every day.

In addition to refilling your spiritual tank, pay attention to your physical and emotional tanks, too. Here’s how I describe making sure our F.U.E.L. tanks are full:

  • F – Find your lifelines
    • Make sure you refuel a little bit each day. And make sure you stop and spend a little more time refueling each week. And maybe once a month take some time to really detach and focus on refueling. I just took a personal retreat for 48 hours and came back so much healthier than if I would have kept my engine revved.
  • U – Understand YOU
    • What builds into you? Do some of those things regularly so you’re not just pouring out, but you’re getting poured into.
  • E – Establish goals and boundaries
    • Know what you’re saying “yes” to. That will help you say, “no” to other things that drain you.
  • L – Look for approval in the right places
    • You can’t please everyone. Focus on pleasing God and the key people in your life. I often ask the question, “Who am I willing to disappoint with this decision as to what I will do with my time?”

If you need further help fueling up, go to bridgeway.cc/events for a full menu of fuel options.