On Pumping Too Much Gas

The other day I was at the gas station filling up my truck. I went about the routine process, starting to pump the gas and clicking on the automatic holder that keeps the gas flowing while you walk away. I then went up to the front of my truck and leaned inside for something (I think it was to clean out some trash---which should be a surprise because my truck never gets trashy......ahem.....).

Suddenly, I started hearing this splashing noise, and my feet started feeling sprinkles. Could it be raining? Nope....blue skies. Perhaps someone had emptied a bucket of water. No, because no water smelled like this, not to mention there was no one around me. Then, I poked my head back out of the truck to see a dismal sight.

To my shock and horror, gas was spouting out of my gas tank like Old Faithful. A river of unleaded fuel was pouring down the pavement onto my feet. I was just waiting on the serial killer to light the match that would send me up in smoke, when I realized that it was just the handle's automatic shut-off obviously not working. I quickly shut off the pump and assessed the damage.

Other than gasoline all over my feet, a dollar of wasted money, and a little bit of embarrassment, everything was OK. I started to curse the pump like Jesus cursed the barren fig tree, but I figured that the people next to me would probably find that a little awkward. So, I just drove off.

How many times had I pumped gas before and had it stop exactly when it needed to? Several hundred at least. I'd done it so many times before, I thought I knew what I was getting.

I was wrong. I got more than I expected. Then it hit me.....

What if God wants to do the same thing?

How many times do we go to church or spend time in prayer, expecting a set amount of God. OK, God, we want 15 gallons of you this week, and that should fill me up. Or, God, I'm pretty full this week, so why don't you just give me about 3 gallons?

Imagine this, though. What if God doesn't just want to fill up the spot you've offered him? What if he wants you to have so much of him that you overflow, drowning in the goodness of his presence?

I know. It's not what we expect. Most of the time it's not convenient. It will cost more than we're used to paying. It will cause us to have a certain "odor" about us that might be a little different. And it could even mean that you're in danger of catching on fire....

David said in Psalm 23 that God had given him so much that his "cup overflows." That's what I want.

Not so much for my gas tank as for my heart, but still. Whatever it takes to get the point, right?