Having your own car means you don’t have to wait in the sun or the rain for a bus or taxi, stand in long queues, or rush and struggle to get a seat on a bus. You have the privacy to make calls you may not be comfortable making on public transport, enough space for yourself, your family, and your belongings, and a readily available vehicle to use if a medical or any other emergency suddenly arises. Having your own car is less stressful and less fatiguing than using public transport. But you can only tap into the benefits of having your own car if you know how to drive or have a driver; you have the keys to the car; you haven’t misplaced or forgotten them; and you have money to fuel your car; otherwise, you will be an owner of a car who is still living like someone who doesn’t have a car.
Having a car parked in your house that you can’t use is like having blessings you can’t access. This is how many believers today operate. God has given us power to do great things and exercise authority here on earth (Luke 10:19, Acts 1:8, Romans 8:11), but because of fear of driving—the fear of what people will say, what people will do, what if it doesn’t work, what if no one is interested, what if no one shows up, what if no one supports me—we don’t step into our car; we don’t step into all the things God has created us to do. No matter how sleek, expensive, or luxurious a car is, it needs fuel, diesel, or a battery to power new-generation electric cars, or it will be grounded in one spot.
Without the Holy Spirit and the power of God, we are like a car with the potential to take us to different places, both within the state or community we live in and beyond it, but the car can’t move because there’s no fuel in it; there’s nothing to power it. The Holy Spirit and the power of God are the fuel that takes us to all the places God has prepared for us; the fuel that strengthens and enables us to keep moving despite challenges. Without the Holy Spirit and the power of God filling us and manifesting in us, we can’t cross some bridges we will face on the journey of life; we will keep falling into the potholes of sin, temptations, and bad habits, and can easily give up when we come face to face with serious traffic and roadblocks, when there are delays, setbacks, and disappointments along the way.
The fuel in your car determines how far it can go. Having fuel in your car is one thing; having enough fuel to reach your destination is another. For example, 1,000 naira of fuel can’t get you from Ajah to the Redemption Camp. The level of God’s anointing and power in our lives determines how far we will go, the things God will use us for, and the things we will accomplish for the Kingdom of God. That car heading for the Redemption Camp with only 1,000 naira in fuel will find that the engine can stop and everything shuts down right in the middle of nowhere. Then the driver has to look for people to help push the car off the road and may start frantically looking for a bottle or jerry can to go and buy fuel from the nearest petrol station. Or worse still, while waiting to get fuel, the driver or other passengers in the car are robbed and attacked. But all that could have been avoided if he had filled the car with the right amount of fuel.
The Christian life is not a quick stop or a short trip to the nearest house, shop, or church. It’s a long journey that requires adequate fuel. In this journey, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). We need a regular, ongoing infilling of the Holy Spirit through daily prayer and study of God’s Word, sincere worship and praise to God, fasting and waiting on God, fellowship with other believers, being available for God’s work and service, and openness and surrender to God’s leading and direction. This is the only way our tank won’t run dry; this is the way to ensure we are not stranded and helpless along the way, that we don’t come under spiritual attacks, or that we get pushed off the straight and narrow road, as a car without fuel is pushed off the main road. We need to keep going back to our filling station; we need to keep going back to God and keep spending time with God.
There’s no need to journey through life with just a little ‘fuel’ when God is ready to anoint our heads with His power and anointing until we overflow with it (Psalm 23:5). There’s no need to drive in darkness when God has promised light in the darkness; He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us (John 16:13). Don’t allow the devil to limit you to short drives, doing only what is comfortable and convenient, when you can go the long haul.
Don’t allow fear, laziness, or the devil to limit your God-given potential and gifts when you have the capacity, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to expand your influence, make a great impact in your generation, and do extraordinary things for God. It’s time to refuel and recharge; it’s time to hunger and thirst for more of God’s power. But don’t just get the fuel and then park the car; activate the power of God. Start using the power of God within you to make a difference and be a blessing.
Etiquette Corner
October is the season in Nigeria that is set aside to show unalloyed respect for our country’s symbols, maintain civic-mindedness in public spaces, and follow local laws and cultural norms.
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