Ever have one of those days where you feel like you can conquer the world? You know, those days when you’re well-rested. Full of energy. Optimism. When there’s no stressful situations in your life. Those are great days, aren’t they? We almost feel invincible. But are we? Not really. The reality is that after a few hours we need to eat. And we need to drink. Oh, sure we can skip a meal if we are really busy. Or not drink anything for a while. But then something happens. We begin to run down. We get tired.
In addition to eating and drinking, we also need to rest. Usually we kill 3 birds with one stone here. We sit down and rest as we are eating and drinking. Talk about multitasking. But sometimes we just need to sit back and relax. This is not an option. It’s a necessity. Then there is the whole subject of sleep. As a self-professed night owl, I don’t do well in this department. And the truth is that since mid-August I’ve been doing terrible at it. At this point I figure I’m getting about 7 hours of sleep a night instead of 8. After a week that adds up. The result being that I’m tired. Sluggish. The thinking process isn’t quite what it should be. The enthusiasm wanes. I am more susceptible to being discouraged. The fact is that even on our best days, we need to periodically refuel. Eat. Drink. Rest. Relax. Sleep. If we don’t, we get tired. Slow. Less focused. Irritable.
The same thing happens to us spiritually. There are days when we are on top of the world. We had a great devotional time. Or we spent some time in worship. Spiritually-speaking our spirits are up and we feel like we can handle anything that the world or Satan throws at us. And maybe we can. For a short period of time. Then we begin to lose steam. An unholy thought enters our mind. We are faced with a temptation. The flesh suddenly comes to life over an unkind word or attitude that was directed our way. Before long, instead of being on Cloud 9 we drop down to Cloud 5. Or 2. Or fall right back to earth. We are spiritually-weak. Tired. Exhausted.
The answer to this is to refuel. We see this process in Ephesians 5. In verse 18 we are commanded to, “...be filled with the Spirit.”. In the original Greek this implies continuous action. In other words, a literal translation is, “Keep on being filled”. The reason why we need to do this is that we leak. In the same way that we get physically tired, we get spiritually tired. As Christians, we are constantly under attack. The world, our flesh and Satan never let up. They keep assaulting our spirit, hoping to wear us down. To gain entry and wreak havoc. This is why we need to constantly be filled with the Spirit. So, as soon as we realize that we have gossiped about someone, or lost our temper, given in to a lustful thought or worry, we need to stop. Right then and there we need to repent and ask for forgiveness. Then we need to refuel. To ask the Holy Spirit to refill us. And He will.
So, let’s seek to make refueling a regular habit in our lives. To refuel multiple times throughout the day. If we will do this we will find that we are refreshed. Excited. Empowered. Ready to go out into the world and conquer for Jesus.
Lord, help me to realize my neediness. And Your supply. Give me a holy awareness of when I’m under-powered. Help me stop right then and refuel. To allow Your Spirit to completely fill my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
In addition to eating and drinking, we also need to rest. Usually we kill 3 birds with one stone here. We sit down and rest as we are eating and drinking. Talk about multitasking. But sometimes we just need to sit back and relax. This is not an option. It’s a necessity. Then there is the whole subject of sleep. As a self-professed night owl, I don’t do well in this department. And the truth is that since mid-August I’ve been doing terrible at it. At this point I figure I’m getting about 7 hours of sleep a night instead of 8. After a week that adds up. The result being that I’m tired. Sluggish. The thinking process isn’t quite what it should be. The enthusiasm wanes. I am more susceptible to being discouraged. The fact is that even on our best days, we need to periodically refuel. Eat. Drink. Rest. Relax. Sleep. If we don’t, we get tired. Slow. Less focused. Irritable.
The same thing happens to us spiritually. There are days when we are on top of the world. We had a great devotional time. Or we spent some time in worship. Spiritually-speaking our spirits are up and we feel like we can handle anything that the world or Satan throws at us. And maybe we can. For a short period of time. Then we begin to lose steam. An unholy thought enters our mind. We are faced with a temptation. The flesh suddenly comes to life over an unkind word or attitude that was directed our way. Before long, instead of being on Cloud 9 we drop down to Cloud 5. Or 2. Or fall right back to earth. We are spiritually-weak. Tired. Exhausted.
The answer to this is to refuel. We see this process in Ephesians 5. In verse 18 we are commanded to, “...be filled with the Spirit.”. In the original Greek this implies continuous action. In other words, a literal translation is, “Keep on being filled”. The reason why we need to do this is that we leak. In the same way that we get physically tired, we get spiritually tired. As Christians, we are constantly under attack. The world, our flesh and Satan never let up. They keep assaulting our spirit, hoping to wear us down. To gain entry and wreak havoc. This is why we need to constantly be filled with the Spirit. So, as soon as we realize that we have gossiped about someone, or lost our temper, given in to a lustful thought or worry, we need to stop. Right then and there we need to repent and ask for forgiveness. Then we need to refuel. To ask the Holy Spirit to refill us. And He will.
So, let’s seek to make refueling a regular habit in our lives. To refuel multiple times throughout the day. If we will do this we will find that we are refreshed. Excited. Empowered. Ready to go out into the world and conquer for Jesus.
Lord, help me to realize my neediness. And Your supply. Give me a holy awareness of when I’m under-powered. Help me stop right then and refuel. To allow Your Spirit to completely fill my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment