A few days ago I was eating breakfast in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at one of my favorite breakfast places in the world, La Bombonera. The pastries there just melt in your mouth!
My wife ordered coffee with her pastries and it was brewed in the biggest shiniest coffee machine I’ve ever seen (above picture). The machine’s claim to fame is that it’s 104 years old, but it doesn’t look it. Yes, it has a few visible dings here and there but still works like a charm. Forever young would be a good way to describe that ‘bad boy’.
Forever young is the quest of our times but sadly the world only focuses on outside appearance. The problem is that you can’t stop the aging process. Your flap will eventually flop. It’s unavoidable.
The readiness and excitement of youthfulness is a matter of the heart and mind. However, it’s easy to lose one’s passion.
Pastors, like everyone else, easily get discouraged. Sometimes we don’t see the results we hoped for and our personal dreams seem to remain far from our grasp. Then, when we forget that God is the only One responsible for changing lives we feel like failures when folks don’t respond to Him as they should. The condition of the Christian church universal saddens us, the sinful actions of preachers/ministers break our hearts, and our own sin and failure debilitates us. Please don’t misunderstand, this is not a complaint but an open window into the heart of pastors and their families.
In fact it’s easy for anyone to lose focus and passion, even hope. You may not be a pastor but for whatever reason you’ve lost the zeal for life you once had. I want to share with you something I read recently that helped me and I’m sure it’s going to help you as well. This is good stuff! It was written close to three thousand years ago,
“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength” Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)
Most people are looking for just that, a daily dose of fresh strength. You may be one of them.
The word ‘wait’ has nothing to do with doing nothing. It’s actually a verb. It has to do with twisting and stretching something in order to make it strong. The word also has to do with anticipating something good.
Think of kids at Christmas or getting a present during your birthday. You’re told, “Close your eyes and open your hands.” And you’re so excited that you just can’t wait to get whatever. You want to open your eyes but you’re told, “Wait for it, wait for it…” and that’s what you do. Aren’t there some incredible feelings attached to that waiting?
That’s the kind of anticipating the prophet was describing. It’s an edge of your chair looking for what all God has for you next. Keep in mind, this is a promise God made to all of us who love Him. I challenge you,
Rediscover the joy of living by every day expecting the Lord to bring something good your way. (Tweet that)
A ray of sunshine broke through my office window a while back revealing something I had not seen, a spider’s web. (below)
That spider was waiting for some delicious bug to get caught in her stretched web. Part of her waiting, though, involved adding new silk threads to her complex web network.
We need to keep doing our best at everything (job, family, school, etc) while at the same time looking forward to the thrill of getting a hold of what God is brewing for is.
I call that the thrill of hope and it’s worth getting up and living for.
What other ways of refreshment have you found helpful when you find yourself losing steam? Please leave me a comment.
When I start to lose steam or fall into a rut, I recall a verse in Hebrews, chapter 10, verse 25: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
When God built His church, He knew how important fellowship would be to us. It’s not just greeting each other, it’s listening, sharing, caring, and praying for each other.
After leaving our church fellowship on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, I’m not only recharged, but also refreshed.
Pastors everywhere have a lot going on in their minds, especially on Sundays. They need an encouraging word, a greeting, a smile, and most importantly, constant prayer cover! That’s how we, as a congregation, can refresh them!
Great thought, Jim. A loving church can be an amazing source of refreshment for all of God’s people.