Fuel Tanks
An Object Lesson for those with S.A.D.D. --
Spiritual Attention Deficit Disorder
by Tana Voss
My younger sister, Kara, has six children. At the time this 'object lesson' occurred, their ages ranged from ten-years-old down to the youngest being two-years-old. Kara and the kids had driven from Kentucky to our farm in south central Illinois for a week long visit. It was around the third morning of their visit, when I began to sense my need to spend a little extra time apart with Jesus. I definitely could tell my spirit-man fuel tank needed to be refilled. It's amazing how quickly six healthy, happy and full-of-life children can drain a completely full tank! Honestly, on this particular morning, it felt as though my 'fuel light' was blinking in an effort to warn me this tank was nearing empty. To allow this tank to run completely dry during their visit would not have been wise, since there were six sets of little eyes observing my every action. A good example or a bad example . . . one way or the other, I would be an example to them.
I woke early that morning, dressed in my sweats and gym shoes, and tiptoed out of the house heading for the Ramsey State Park. The state park is located only a couple of miles from our farm. It has a 45 acre lake with four miles of beautifully timbered road winding around it. An extra long walk alone with a music CD playing praise and worship music would be my attempt to refuel my spirit tank that morning. Unfortunately, my attempt to sneak out unnoticed had failed. I cringed when one of my nieces came running up behind me pleading, "Aunt Tana, may I please go with you?" Detecting how empty I was feeling, I didn't imagine this would be a good idea. I surmised that trying to refuel my spirit-man tank; while it was being drained at the same time, would not get the refueling job accomplished which I so desperately needed. Feeling like a terrible aunt, I responded, "Sorry sweetheart, but Aunt Tana needs to walk alone this morning."
I began to comprehend how empty I had allowed my spirit tank to become as I walked and concentrated on the words of the music. Fortunately, the longer I walked the more filled and refreshed I was beginning to feel. My thoughts then switched gears and I sighed to think of all the mowing I needed to accomplish that week. Start to finish the mowing takes about eight hours each week. All of a sudden, a mental picture flashed through my mind of the previous week-end. I was sitting on our new lawn mower listening intently to my husband give me instructions on how to start, run, fuel and check the tires on this new mower. He mentioned something about it having two fuel tanks and then proceeded to show me the location of the switch that allowed me to change from one fuel tank to the other. Continuing with his explanation, he said, "That way, if you're mowing along and start 'sucking air'; you can reach down between your knees and flip the switch to start drawing fuel from the other tank."
Pondering the thought of two fuel tanks, the Holy Spirit chimed in, "You have two tanks inside of you, also. You have a spirit-man tank and you have a flesh-man tank. If you neglect to fill your spirit tank each day, you run the risk of drawing fuel from the flesh tank. And remember your flesh tank never runs short on fuel. Understand that if your spirit tank runs dry, it is because of insufficient time spent allowing me to properly fill you up. And when your spirit tank starts 'sucking air', you won't have to fumble around to locate the switch for your flesh tank . . . the tank switch will be automatic!"
Oh me, oh my! The fuel inside my flesh tank is some nasty stuff! Here's a partial list of fuel components in the flesh-man tank . . . hatred, depression, anxiety, impatience, rudeness, jealousy, self-pity, anger, bitterness, strife and selfishness. I'd much rather fuel my engine/life from the spirit tank with its components being . . .
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Galatians 5:22-23
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