Guided thoughts no. 24

Many of us carry "smart" mobile phones these days. I resisted for quite a while, but gave in when promised "Face" time with kids, if I purchased one to take the place of my older cell phone. We won't go into whether or not that time together materialized. (Grin)

These things run on batteries, no? Don't ya hate it when you glance down at it and the little symbol for "I've almost run out of juice, please charge me up!" is showing on the screen? Or when you get past that point and it just plain gives out? Oy.

Recently, someone in our family purchased an all electric vehicle. It should work out alright, since their daily commute to work is just twelve miles, round trip. But what if there is a need to go somewhere else? The grocery store? The doctor?

What if when they jump in and buckle up, the display reads "Low battery life"?

I wonder if that is how God feels sometimes when He looks at us? He has given us a task, and He looks down and we are moving in slow motion......if we are moving at all.

Do we pay attention to recharging our spiritual batteries? Many missed opportunities to serve the Lord come from not being fully charged and ready to work for Him!
How do we "charge our batteries"?  We know how to keep ourselves physically ready. Our tummies remind us that we need to eat. Our levels of fatigue tell us we need recuperative sleep.  Those are physical preparations.....what about the spiritual?

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ (Matthew 4:4)

Here is where Jesus was quoting from:

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

Jesus is telling us that we need to pay attention to the spiritual regimen that will renew our souls, just as food and sleep renew our bodies. Like the electric car that needs to be plugged in to recharge, so we also need to be "plugged in" to recharge our spiritual batteries for each day.

The best possible life for a believer starts and continues with Jesus' instructions for a daily connection and study in God's Word. Unless we recharge, and renew our minds and feed our souls, there will be some point during the day when we stop working correctly. It will be that time that the Lord sees an "out of power" or "unusable" signal from us -- and we will miss out on the benefits of working for Him in His strength.

Do you long to have the kind of power that Isaiah mentioned?

He gives strength to the weary    and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary,    and young men stumble and fall;  but those who hope in the Lord    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;    they will run and not grow weary,    they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:29-31)

Are you tired? Are you weary? It's time for us to soar with eagles! Being tired isn't always a physical thing....sometimes weariness is in our minds and in our attitudes.....we need recharging! We may be carrying a load that we don't need to bear: worry, fear, anxiety, apprehension. If we try to face life by being strong on our own, we will come to a point where we can go no further. We will want to give up.  In our lives, we know there will be difficulties, temptations, and stress.

Here are two things we need to take care of, in order to recharge and be ready:
First, have we lost our close fellowship with God? Have we lost our enthusiasm? The Bible translators called it "zeal." When we lose our desire for God, other things take His place in our hearts. But if we draw close to the Lord, the things of this world lose their power and strength over us.
Second, have we experienced a past that is filled with regrets? Are we holding onto that pain? If we are focused on the past, it's just impossible to receive that fresh, new strength from Him. Our future is going to be better than our past! We have everything to look forward to -- and reading in His Word and finding and remembering His promises.....that's the way to move on, and to have spiritual power.

Are our spiritual batteries charged up for today?