Learning To Listen To God
One day I was practicing listening to the Holy Spirit. Driving through Tennessee in my truck, beautiful scenery passed by on a summers day. In the back of my pickup I had 6 or 7 five gallon gas cans. I had used most of them but I knew I had one left. As I drove down the country roads God would say, “take a left,” or “go straight ahead.” Hour after hour I drove as my gas gauge went lower and lower. I saw a gas station coming up and I ask God “can I stop?” The Holy Spirit said, “no.” I kept driving and sure enough I ran out of gas. Climbing into the back of my truck, I took out the remaining full can and emptied it into the tank.
You are not out of gas
I continued driving until my gas gauge read empty once again. Driving in the middle of nowhere, I had no idea how far it was to the next town. Talking to God, I said, “I am out of fuel, I have to stop”. God replied.”no, you are not out, keep going”. That day, I really didn’t feel like walking or trying to hitch a ride and so I argued with God and told Him that I had no gas. God simply said, “you are not out of gas” to which I said, “Yes I am, all my gas cans are empty and my gas gauge reads empty; I am definitely about to run dry.”
Failing to listen to God
I am not proud of my next decision because I did not listen to God and when I ran across a gas station I stopped and fueled up. Though I felt badly, I just did not want to walk that day. I continued on my cross-country journey for another 4000 miles. After a week or so I started cleaning out the back of my truck, removing all the things I had brought with me, until I came to my empty gas cans. Each can I removed was very light except the last one: it was full of gas! I had carried one gas can all those miles not realizing that it was full. Immediately the Holy Spirit said “I told you so.” and, feeling very sheepish, I said, “Sorry.”
I was not out of gas
God is always right and when we believe our own eyes more than what He says we are always wrong. I often think back to that lesson when I’m faced with believing God even though what He says seems opposite of what I think. The truth is that I was “not out of Gas” that day but just “out of faith”. I pray that God will help me trust Him more in the future.
