REFUEL. REPLENISH. REFRESH

Traveling from Michigan to Colorado last week was a long journey for my husband and I - 23 hours to be exact - to reach our destination of Avon, Colorado where our daughter and granddaughter live.

Upon entering Illinois on our way towards the mountain state, I noticed the TA Center billboard sign to the left that read "Refuel Replenish Refresh." I immediately thought about this in a spiritual connotation instead of the natural meaning it evoked to weary travelers.

In this spiritual journey, though, are we sometimes weary travelers too?  

How do we:

REFUEL
We probably check our fuel gauge in our car every time we drive. It's a habit that we cultivate.  The TA advertisement is aware of this too. Are we conscious, though, about checking our spiritual fuel tank?  We can get busy with doing life that we forget.  We need to remind ourselves that God designed us to function on the fuel of His truth filling our heart and mind. So let's refuel today.  If we want to live a life of power, we will need to be refueled by God's truth every day. Read Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16.  The question is this: How full is our spiritual fuel tank with God's truth?

REPLENISH
Websters has several meanings of the word "replenish".  One meaning is to "fill or build up (something) again".  With respect to the TA advertisement, I'm sure their meaning to replenish is to fill up or build up our depleting energy from traveling by eating some food or drinking something hot or cold.  How often do we as spirit people replenish ourselves?  Rebuild our spiritual energy? Do we nourish ourselves with inspiration through prayer, through reading God's Word or through worship?  How often do we stock up on the good things of God? Do we realize, as Christ followers, that we have the resources of heaven to use?  Let's replenish ourselves with the resources that Heaven offers: Faith. Hope. Love. Abundance. Deliverance. Healing. Forgiveness. Prayer. Worship, and so much more.

REFRESH
In stopping at the TA service center, I felt refreshed just getting out of the car and walking around, a change of pace so to speak, feeling the cool winter breeze on my face and taking a deep breath of fresh air. But what does spiritual refreshment look like? In Acts 3:19 Paul exhorts the listeners to repent and respond to the gospel so that "times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord". As believers, we can experience a time of refreshing by quieting our hearts in a devotional time of prayer, Bible reading, and through worship. We can spend time alone with God - listening more and talking less.  Through these, we can experience his peace and joy which will refresh our spirit.  When we draw near to God, our minds are refreshed, our strength renewed.  We will "mount up with wings as eagles.  We will run and not be weary" - Isaiah 40:31.

THE PLAN
Let's make a plan for personal Bible study this year to be refueled by God's truth, to replenish ourselves with faith, hope, love and build up our spiritual energy, and to refresh ourselves by spending time alone with God not just talking but listening.