Running on Empty

 

About Asher he said: “…your strength will equal your days.”

—Deuteronomy 33:25

We had made the long trip from Hartford, Connecticut, to Portland, Oregon, for a conference. Having an afternoon free, we decided to take a carload of friends with us in the rental car the 80 miles out to the coast to see the Pacific Ocean. We had a beautiful trip, waded in the ocean, grabbed some lunch, and headed back toward Portland.

Little did we realize that the route we chose went directly through miles and miles of forests with no houses, or towns, or people, except the occasional logging truck. This happened before the days of hand-held cell phones. And, in that wilderness, the installed car phone had no reception either.

Not understanding the distance we had to travel, we soon notice we were low on fuel—really low. We prayed that over the next hill we’d see civilization and a service station. The minutes ticked away. Nothing came into view.

As the fuel gauge reached that awesome and foreboding red-colored “E,” we finally crested a hill and saw in the distance the very oasis we had looked for—a service station! Coasting in on fumes, we purchased fuel and were soon on the road again toward our destination.

I would suppose that many people during these days of the COVID-19 Pandemic are also running on empty. We didn’t realize when we started just how far the trip would be. We had not understood all the desolate places we would be forced to travel through with no end in sight.

I confess that in my own prayers, I have begged God for the gift He gave the tribe of Asher through Moses: a strength to equal my days. As this period stretches us more and more, we need to experience the never-ending strength of God.

Thank the Lord for the promises of the Scriptures. We read in Psalm 84:5-7:

Blessed are those who strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca [a place of drought], they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength.

If those of us who know the Lord are moving through life feeling empty, just imagine how those must feel who have no such Source of strength in their lives. Let us pray—not only that the Lord will give us this persevering power to live—but that we will testify to the witness of that strength before a watching world.