How quickly does the refreshing of a Sunday wear off for you? How quickly do you feel the dullness invading, causing your keen insights and revelation to slip away? How quickly does discouragement and doubt come knocking? How quickly do you lose your sensitivity to the Spirit? It's not suppose to be like this.
Maybe you didn't realize? Maybe you thought this was just normal; how it worked? It's not.
We don't belong here.
There is a condition in this world that has twisted our basic nature so that the world is in constant rebellion against its creator. We did that. We introduced this rebellion and made everything dull, cold and ugly. But our Creator loved us too much to leave us like that, even though it was our decision.
So he punched a whole in this thing to allow us to escape and enter into vibrant, colourful life again,where he lives in us and we in him. He did this through Jesus who had to sacrifice everything so we could gain everything. But there was more to God's plan.
He couldn't bring us home yet because we are part of his plan to bring the good news of what he has done to the four corners of this planet. So because we had to stay in this dull, dying, rebellious place, he filled us with himself; his power; the Spirit of God, to keep us fresh, alive, colourful, and equipped to do his will. But we have to participate.
The moment we take our focus off of Jesus the dullness of this rebellious place crowds in. We have no power of our own to drive it away but we are filled by the power of Jesus through the Spirit of God. So we must stay focused. We can`t become distracted. We can`t allow the dullness to prevail. We must overcome every day.
Jesus had to as well.
He did not walk this planet as God. Although he is fully God and fully man, he set his divinity aside to fulfill his mission. His power came via the Holy Spirit who took from the Father and gave to the Son. Did you not notice that Jesus started off his day in solitary prayer and he ended the day in the like manner. Jesus, who is God, had to walk this spiritually dull and rebellious planet as us and it must have drained him as it drains us. He needed refreshing every day. Every single day he looked for his spirit to be renewed in the presence of his Father.
What about us?
Do we think we are better than Jesus, that we can go from Sunday to Sunday without refreshing, without renewal, without sweet communion with our God? I pray all day long about everything and everyone, but it isn't the same as coming aside from this dull world and sitting in the presence of my Father. Of course it is my desire to be aware of his presence 24 hours a day, but I am not there yet. I am like Jesus; I long to be renewed each day, to have the dullness of the rebellion washed away and to be re-energized in worship. Every day.
That is the cure to your spiritual dullness; worship. Seek our Father's face. Desire to be in his embrace. Listen to his voice. Listen for instruction. Search the Word. Study. Dig deep. Dance in his presence. Present yourself to him and allow him to do what needs to be done. To repair the brokenness. To remove the hurt. To restore your energy. To be reminded of his grace, his strength and his purpose for you.
Don't wait until Sunday. It is a daily walk that requires daily refreshing. Be renewed today.
Our greatest need is connection, to be known, to be seen. But most of us are not brave enough. We have too much to hide. Too much shame. Too much fear. But we have a Father who does see us. He knows us completely. Even our shame. And he chose to love us. He is faithful to it. He wants you to know it's safe to love him back. He forgives you. He completes you. He fills you with joy and wonder. He has given you purpose. That purpose is love. Here are a few scraps of thought so you can "see" me.
2 comments:
I totally agree with your post, however, I'm curious...why do you worship on Sundays? The Bible Sabbath goes from Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown and I have yet to find one scripture that commands us to keep Sunday...
That's the day we choose to gather. We worship in spirit and truth so every day is a day of worship for us. But the day our congregation chooses to gather is Sunday, But these are silly and disputable matters that are not worthy of our time. There are so much greater things to discuss about Jesus.
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