Are You Being Renewed Daily?

We get so bound up in this world, don’t we? It’s no wonder: between kids needing to do school, the extras like sports, band, and everything else, bills to pay, mouths to feed, homes to maintain, jobs, and a plethora of other worries, this world keeps us focused on the present. And yet, as I read Scripture, I recognize that this is not what we’re supposed to do! We were never meant to be exhausted to the point of shutting our minds off when the work day is done, or to fill our empty time with activities. Even before the fall, work was a part of life, and Adam and Eve experienced work with a rest with God as they walked with Him in the cool of the day (We know this because in Genesis 3, they heard the sound when He physically entered Eden, meaning they were familiar with it!).

The process of work, rest and renewal existed before The Fall, and God gave us a Sabbath, and then the Lord’s Day, for this very reason! He desires us to be renewed, daily in Him, and a deep renewal weekly in His presence. We are so tired, we have no peace, no joy, and only stress and worry because we’re not being daily renewed. But remember, loved ones: Isaiah tells us

“but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Are you being renewed? Do you have peace, hope and joy, in spite of your circumstances? It’s time to put the Calendar down, set aside the activities, and go and walk with Jesus.

Isaiah 40:27-31

Why do you say, O Jacob,

and speak, O Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord,

and my right is disregarded by my God”?

Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint,

and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Even youths shall faint and be weary,

and young men shall fall exhausted;

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

they shall walk and not faint.

James 1:2-7

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

James 5:7-20

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.