Real Talk Believer

Running on Fumes

Can I be real with you for a minute?

Some seasons I am pouring into everybody. My husband, my kids, my grandbaby, my business, the people who show up on my page. I’m handing out encouragement like candy at a parade. And somewhere in the middle of all that giving, I look down and realize my own plate is empty.

I’m snappy. I’m tired. I’m reading my Bible like a to-do list instead of a love letter. And I wonder why God feels a hundred miles away.

Maybe you’ve been there too. Maybe you’re there right now.

Here’s what the Lord keeps gently reminding me: we were made to be fed, and we were made to feed. Not one or the other. Both. And when we get that rhythm right, life gets so much fuller than we ever imagined.

You Can’t Feed Anybody From an Empty Plate

Jesus didn’t call Himself a nice snack. He said, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger” (John 6:35).

Bread was the everyday food. You didn’t eat it once a week and call it good. You needed it every single day. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). Daily. Not Sunday-only.

And when the enemy tempted Him in the wilderness, Jesus answered with this: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). The Word is food. His presence is food. Without it, we’re running on spiritual empty calories and wondering why we’re so hungry.

What Getting Fed Actually Looks Like

Let’s be honest. Getting fed by Jesus doesn’t always look like a two-hour quiet time with candles and a perfect journal spread. Some days it looks like:

• Reading one verse in the car-line before the kids pile in
• Playing worship music while you fold laundry
• Whispering “Lord, I need You” before you open your email
• Listening to a sermon on your walk instead of scrolling
• Sitting on the porch with your coffee and just being still

It’s not about performing for God. It’s about showing up hungry and letting Him fill you. He’s not grading your devotional. He just wants you at the table.

Breakfast on the Beach

One of my favorite moments in the whole Bible is in John 21. Peter had denied Jesus three times. He’d gone back to fishing, probably feeling like a total failure. And the risen Jesus shows up on the shore, cooking breakfast.

He doesn’t lecture Peter first. He feeds him first. “Come and dine” (John 21:12).

Then, after Peter’s belly is full, Jesus asks him three times, “Do you love me?” And each time Peter says yes, Jesus gives him the same assignment: “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17).

Do you see the order? Jesus fed Peter, then sent Peter to feed others. We don’t get filled up just to sit there full. We get filled up so we have something to give away.

Feeding Others Doesn’t Have to Be Fancy

You don’t need a pulpit to feed God’s people. You need a willing heart and whatever He just put on your plate. Feeding others might look like:

• Texting a scripture to someone who’s been on your heart
• Praying out loud with a coworker who’s having a rough day
• Sharing honestly about how God carried you through something hard
• Dropping off a meal and a kind word to a tired mama
• Posting something real online instead of something perfect

Remember the little boy with five loaves and two fish? It wasn’t much. But he put it in Jesus’ hands, and thousands were fed with baskets left over (John 6:9–13). Your little is enough when He’s the one multiplying it.

Why We Need Both

Here’s the truth I had to learn the hard way:

• If all we do is eat, we get stagnant. We become spiritually full but fruitless, like a pond with no outlet.
• If all we do is feed others, we burn out. We’re handing out bread we never stopped to receive.

But when we do both, something beautiful happens. We receive, we give, and God fills us right back up. Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

That abundant life isn’t found in hoarding or in hustling. It’s found in the rhythm of being fed by Him and then feeding His people. Receive. Release. Repeat.

Sit With This

Take a minute this week and ask yourself:

1. What is actually feeding me right now? Is it Jesus, or is it my phone, my busyness, other people’s approval?
2. When was the last time I came to Him hungry instead of hurried?
3. Who has God placed in my path that needs some bread today?
4. Am I leaning more toward stagnant or burned out?

A Simple Prayer

Jesus, You are the bread of life. I come to You hungry today. Fill me up with Your Word and Your presence until I’m overflowing. Then show me who needs what You’ve given me, and give me the courage to share it. Teach me the rhythm of being fed and feeding others. I want that abundant life You promised. In Your name, amen.

Now go eat that bread. Then go share it.

With so much love, Momma J 🤍