Running on Empty

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D E V O T I O N A L

"Noooo… please no!"

I was yelling at myself, at the car, at nobody, as I coasted onto the shoulder of the freeway. Just barely made it over. Cars flying past me at seventy miles an hour while I sat there in the sudden, stupid silence of a car that had nothing left to give.

And the worst part? I knew better.

The low fuel light had been on for a while. I had passed several gas stations. Multiple. Each one with that little voice in the back of my head saying you need to stop, you need to fill up. And each time I talked myself right out of it. There's a station closer to work. I don't have time right now. Just a little bit longer.

Just a little bit longer. Famous last words.

So there I sat, waiting on roadside assistance, watching the world rush by without me. And in that forced stillness, something started happening. The noise of the traffic faded into background and I found myself in a quiet, slow conversation with God that I had not made time for in weeks.

Weeks.

And I realized the car was not the only thing running on empty.

Because I had been doing the exact same thing with my soul. Warning lights on for a while. That little nudge saying slow down, take a breath, come sit with Me. And every time, the same excuses. I'll do it later. Things will calm down after this week. I don't have time right now. Just a little bit longer.

Sound familiar to anybody else?

We are so good at this. Running ourselves down to fumes and calling it being productive. Ignoring the signs our bodies and our spirits are throwing at us because stopping feels like it costs too much. Telling ourselves we will refuel when things settle, when the season eases up, when we finally get ahead. And things never settle. The season never eases. We just keep driving on empty until something forces us to the shoulder.

Sometimes God lets us end up on the side of the road because it is the only place we will finally be still long enough to talk to Him.

Jesus knew this about us. Mark 6:31 says "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." He said that to His disciples in the middle of a whirlwind season, when people were coming and going so constantly they did not even have a chance to eat. He did not tell them to push through. He did not tell them to grind it out. He said come away with Me and rest.

Notice He did not just say rest. He said come with Me. The point was never just to stop. It was to stop with Him. That is the difference between collapsing and refueling. Plenty of us crash on the couch at the end of a long day and still wake up empty, because sleep restores the body but it does not fill the soul. Only He does that.

And notice something else. Jesus was not offering rest as a reward for finishing everything. There was still a crowd waiting. The work was not done. It is never done. He called them away anyway, because rest was not the thing to do after the work. It was part of how the work gets sustained.

Here is what my little freeway situation taught me. Later does not always work. Sometimes we need the now. Because the tank does not care about your schedule and neither does your soul. You can keep telling yourself you will fill up eventually, but empty comes when empty comes, and usually at the worst possible moment.

So today, or tonight, or whenever you finish reading this, find a few minutes. Not an hour retreat you will never actually schedule. A few minutes. Sit in the quiet. Open His word. Talk to Him honestly about how depleted you actually feel. Let Him pour something back into a tank that has been running low for longer than you have been willing to admit.

Do not wait for the side of the freeway to force the conversation.

Fill up now. He is waiting for you there, and He has more than enough for whatever is left of your week.

Much love and blessings,

Ramzi

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Writing these devotionals is a labor of love, and your support makes it possible. If Coffee With My Father has encouraged you, consider buying me a coffee. Every contribution helps me keep sharing hope and truth each week.

Family

Your family gets a better version of you when you are filled up. Taking a few quiet minutes with God is not stealing time from them. It is making sure there is something left to give them.

Relationships

Running on empty makes us short, distracted, and reactive with the people we love most. Refueling with God is one of the most practical things you can do for every relationship in your life.

Mental Health

Ignoring your warning lights takes a real toll. If you have been feeling depleted, irritable, or numb for a while, treat that as information, not weakness. Slow down, seek quiet, and reach out for support if the tank has been empty a long time.

Finances

Financial pressure is one of the biggest reasons people push past their limits and refuse to stop. But decisions made from exhaustion are rarely your best ones. Rest is not a luxury you cannot afford. It is how you think clearly.

Physical Health

Your body sends warning lights too. Exhaustion, tension, poor sleep, getting sick more often. Listen to them before you end up on the shoulder. God built rest into how you function on purpose.

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Later doesn't always work. Sometimes you need the now. Fill up before you're stranded.

Lord, I have been running on empty and ignoring every warning light You have put in front of me. Forgive me for the times I have told You later when what I needed was now. Slow me down today. Meet me in these few quiet minutes and fill back up what this week has drained out of me. Thank You that You do not just tell me to rest, You invite me to rest with You. I am coming. Amen.