RUNNING ON EMPTY

 

I was thinking this morning… Yesterday, I joined my church group for a street crusade to share the good news. We mounted the public address system on the open-back truck, and a generator was loaded to power the equipment. After the usual “testing, testing the microphone,” we set out for what was meant to be a two-hour mobile rally.

Barely twenty minutes in, the loudspeakers went silent. Power gone. On enquiry, we were told the generator had run out of petrol. What?

How does someone assigned to power a two- to three-hour outreach not check fuel levels beforehand? That single oversight turned energy into embarrassment and momentum into silence.

As I was still reflecting on it, I remembered a recent funeral I attended. Midway through the journey, the hearse carrying the coffin ran out of fuel. Everything stopped. Mourners waited in awkward disbelief while the driver hurried off to find petrol.

It almost sounded unreal. An occasion as solemn as paying last respects to a loved one, yet something as basic as fuel was overlooked by the undertaker. Agreement reached, payment made but no preparation for completion. Chai.

That’s when it struck me. This is how many people live. We start strong, full of energy and confidence, but fail to prepare for the journey ahead. We chase goals without planning sustainability, build relationships without nurturing them, and make commitments without discipline.

And along the way, we run out. Out of energy. Out of patience. Out of consistency. Life is not just about starting; it’s about finishing well. The small, unseen preparations often make the biggest difference. What looks like a minor detail can determine whether you succeed or stall halfway.

Before you begin anything, pause and ask yourself: do I have what it takes to sustain this? Because starting well is good, but finishing well is everything. Luke 14:28 says “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?”

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy Sunday!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey