Pastor Matt Higa
July 31, 2016 - W1631

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt bombed out, stressed out, or burned out and you know you’re running on empty? Maybe it’s your faith, walk with the Lord, job, marriage, or situation and you are running on empty. If you’re the type of person who gives 110 percent all the time—sooner or later you will be running on empty and have nothing left. 

Everyday life stresses, such as, making ends meet, dealing with unruly bosses and coworkers, paying bills, the mortgage, the traffic, and on top of all that, the enemy of our soul, the devil himself, is trying to burn and snuff us out.

Daniel 7:25, “He (devil) shall speak against the Most High and wear down the holy ones of the Most High …” Another translation says, “He will wear out the saints (the believers).” When I went through a situation of running on empty, the scripture that helped me get through is Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God!”

The Lord said, “Matt, your life is like a cup and I can see that you are empty.” (Some cups are big, small, tall, or short with a different capacity to handle stressful situations.) We say, “Lord, fill me up.   I need to be refreshed.  I’m empty.  Fill me with your love and presence.”  Sometimes the Lord will ask us to first empty our cups because there are things that don’t belong, such as, unforgiveness, holding on to an offense, a lifestyle—whatever it is, the Lord will purposefully ask us to empty our cups.

The Lord was showing me, “Matt, I open the windows of heaven because you are children of My blessings, but while I’m pouring My blessings upon you, you keep moving your cup—trying this, trying that, going to that church, staying with these people. Be still! Know that I am God so you can receive all the blessings I have for you.” 

There are also “cup drainers.” They could be our situations and crises.  Sometimes they are people whom you love.  They suck you dry.  They don’t want to hold down a job and are always asking for money.  The Lord tells us to hold still so He can pour into us wisdom on how to deal with those situations, such as, when to let go, when to bless, when not to enable, and when to hold them accountable.  When we are still, we can receive knowledge and wisdom from the Lord in what to do with “cup drainers.”

I went through a burnout situation and hit the wall. Before it happened, I was feeling worn out, tired, and needed to fill my tank. But when I hit the wall, I just couldn’t get back to where I needed to.  I read all the books on burnout, watched videos, went to conferences, stood in line for prayers, received words of encouragement but I still could not get to where I felt I needed to be.  My wife gave me a word—I believe from the Lord.  She said, “When our son was young we had to make him take a nap, we had to make him go to bed early for his own good.”  Then I remembered Psalm 23:2: “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.” God was not forcing me but I had to submit and let Him make me lie down, not anyplace, but in green pastures, so I could be still and receive from the Lord. 

Every believer will go through desert experiences—Jesus went through it, David went through it praising his way out and Ezekiel went through it prophesying to dry bones. If you follow the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day—between Egypt (your place of bondage) and your promised land, there will be a desert experience.  One thing I learned about desert experiences—do not grumble! Learn from the children of Israel.  They grumbled and went through the desert 40 years instead of 40 days.  Every morning they had fresh manna from heaven, but they grumbled.  So the Lord sent huli-huli chicken (quails).  They gorged and ate so much and got sick.  They grumbled again!  They grumbled so much the Lord sent fiery serpents and many died.  Another time, they grumbled and the earth opened up and swallowed a whole generation. When you are going through a desert situation and feel a snake bite you and the world is falling upon you and you’re getting bitter, stop grumbling in the desert! Be quiet before God and He will show you exactly what you need to do to get through this situation.

I believe that even Jesus went through a season of burnout, at least for a short time. One scripture says He turned to His disciples (His leadership team) and said, “How long must I put up with you?”  They were draining his cup!  Jesus knew to be still before His Father and knew that “Daddy” is the Almighty.  Have you noticed that when everyone was awake Jesus was asleep through the storm; when everyone is sleeping, Jesus is awake early in the morning alone with His Daddy, being still and filled up when He was feeling drained. 

When you give a 110 percent regardless of how tall you are, sooner or later you will come up empty and dry. It is so important we recognize cup drainers in our lives; to be still, saying, “Lord, this situation, this crisis, this person is draining my cup.”  I need to be still so God can pour in His blessing.  If we keep moving, it’s like going to the restaurant, and when the waitress comes and asks if you want your water refilled, while she is pouring you move the cup!  Embrace desert situations and trust God because it’s only when we are empty that God can fill us.

There is a difference between being filled and being fulfilled.  We can fill our lives with so many things—money, cars, clothes, etc.—but only God can fulfill us.  The infilling of the Holy Spirit is continuous.  We are being continually filled with the Holy Spirit.  It’s not a one-time filling.  Your car needs to be refilled when empty.  On the road of life, you need the infilling of the Holy Spirit continuously.  Smith Wigglesworth said he needed the continuous infilling of the Holy Spirit because he leaked!  So do we.

Whatever you are going through, maybe a situation or someone doused the fire out of you, you need to build a new fire because no amount of lighter fluid or adding more wood will make a lasting fire when it is doused. The best firewood to start a new fire is the Cross! Come back to the cross and get the infilling of the Holy Spirit again.

If after you got saved you really messed up and blew it – get close to Jesus! Or if you are going through a desert experience and you prayed and prayed and you feel your prayers did not even leave the room – get close to Jesus! Or you are doing your devotions but not getting anything from those pages, or after service, walking through the parking lot, you question your salvation because coming to church you had a fight with your spouse and after the service you got into the car and started fighting again and wondering if you can really live this Christian life – get close to Jesus! Every time you slip up, the devil is there to wear you down and tell you, “You hypocrite.  You’re good for nothing.  You will never make it.” You may be walking in faith but you still feel empty and you feel like a “zero.”  Anytime you feel like a “0”, get closer to the “1” who is Jesus, and you’ll be a 10 before God! 

Things to do when we are running on empty before the Lord:

• Be Still. Do Not Move your cup while God is pouring in you because His nature is to bless.

• Recognize the “cup drainers” in your life and ask God for wisdom in what to do.

• During a desert experience don’t grumble; embrace it because it’s only when we are empty that we can be filled.

• Continually ask for the infilling of the Holy Spirit and get back on fire for God when running on empty.

STUDY QUESTIONS:

1. Has God revealed anything that is in your cup that needs to be emptied?

2. Explain what Pastor Higa meant by “cup drainers.”

3. What happens when we grumble during a desert experience?

4. What are we to do when we feel we are running on empty?