Got A Dead Battery?

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Psalms 119:156 Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken me according to thy judgments.

Psalms 71:20 Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

This past week Amelia did her school work at night so the next day she and I could go into town and run errands.  We love these times when we can get out together and have a girl's day, so we hurried through breakfast and morning chores.  I gave my round of kisses and goodbyes to the boys and jumped in the car very pleased with myself that we were getting out so early.  As I turned over the ignition in the car, my spirits fell from soaring heights to drowning in the depths of the sea as I heard that infamous click of a dead battery.  I don't know why I even bothered to try it again, but I did and sadly was met with the same result.  Amelia and I got out of the car and Mark came out to see what he could do.  A man who works on the farm came over and jumpstarted us, but Mark was afraid for us to go into town by ourselves, so we waited while he finished up his work and got dressed. 

Several hours later, we were on our way, but plans were now changed because so much time had been wasted by the dead battery.  I rearranged the order in which we would run our errands while Mark was at the mechanic with the car.  We already are tight financially because of needing new tires and an unforeseen bill that took all our emergency cash, so having to by a new battery didn't help our situation.  But, I decided God must have known about it and I wouldn't get down.  We decided to stop at the Post Office and check our mail real quick, and boy am I glad we did.  I had a letter from a dear couple in the states who had sent us their yearly support.  I pulled out my phone, (thank the LORD for technology!) went to my bank app and deposited the check in just a few minutes.  Here we were wondering how we could stretch our dollars, but God had already provided, several weeks before that day!

Do you ever just run out of steam?  I'm not talking about being tired after a long day's work, but spiritually.  Do you ever feel like you don't have anything left to offer?  In the ministry it is easy to get tapped out if you have several counseling sessions with people who are needing a boost from the Word and they come to you for it.  Sometimes as you listen, you are thinking to yourself, "Lady, if you only knew how much I wish I could get a jumpstart today too!"  Am I right?  So, after some careful thought and analyzing I want to share with you what God can do for you on the days when you spiritually have a dead battery:

1. READ God's Word

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Read HIS Word until you hear from Him.  Yes, it may cut into your facebook time, it may cause you to miss your morning jog or third cup of coffee, but it is the difference between a day of spiritual failure and success. 

Jesus told His disciples that it is the Spirit that quickeneth (Makes ALIVE) and the words He spoke had life.  We NEED that life.  We need it every single day. 

2.  AVOID anything that continuously drains you.

What do I mean by that?  Well, every one of us has pet sins that we are addicted to for some reason.  For some it is anxiousness, worrying and fretting.  For some it is rash behavior, quick on the draw with our tongues and actions.  For some it is useless conversations that we already know the answer, but we talk and talk and talk ad nausea.  For some it is being alone too much, isolation and depressive behavior.  You alone can determine what it is in your life that is sucking the life right out of you. 

It may be an actual person you need to withdraw from.  Mom mentioned a very timely verse in her post yesterday and I will reiterate it:

I Timothy 6: 5 “Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.”

Sometimes we need to not pick up the phone, not respond to a message or check the email.  Sometimes if we are running low on spiritual energy, we need to just stay as close to the power source of God's Word and the preaching of that Word as possible.

Psalms 143:11 Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.

3.  SHUT DOWN and REBOOT.

Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

You and I need to mortify (kill) our flesh every morning.  It is the biggest drainer of all.  We have to die to ourselves.  We have to die to our fleshly desires.  Does that mean we can't have lunch with a friend?  NO!  I am talking about literally and honestly looking at your thoughts and desires and how they are determining your day.  We have to decide whether or not we are going to obey Colossians 3:8-10 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

That is the shutting down of the flesh and rebooting in the Spirit!

This is a brand new week.  We are halfway through another month of our journey.  Take inventory of your life.  Is there something draining you that you can unplug from somehow?  I know I need to care for a few areas myself.  Let me encourage you to constantly seek God for that renewing and refreshing of your spirit.

And, if you are like us and let your battery run down to the dead click, God has not abandoned you.  He was watching you run around and satisfy your flesh, but He has made provision in His goodness and mercy.  He will give you the jumpstart you need in order to get where you need to be.  Don't give up and quit. 

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

See?  There is always, always, always, hope.

Until next time, Lord willing!

Sheri