There are four major ways I maintain my rest, energy, joy and encouragement.
First, I make sure I obey God’s commandment by taking a Sabbath day during the week. Exodus 20:8-11 says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. (9) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (10) but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, (11) For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
If God needed a rest after creating the world, how much more do we need rest from our weekly work? I use the Sabbath to rest and draw close to God. Sunday is a great day to do this for most people. That is why you should guard this day from activities that would cause you to miss your weekly Sabbath and church attendance.
Second, I ask God to fill me with his Spirit every day. Acts 1:8 says, “We will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us.” Also, the second fruit of God’s spirit mentioned in the Bible is joy (Galatians 5:22). Joy is an external manifestation of living life by the Spirit of God.
Third, I edify myself by praying with my spirit and mind (1 Corinthians 14:4, 15) and reading the Bible. Psalm 1:2-3 says, “Blessed is the person who delights in the law of the Lord (the Bible), and on his law he meditates day and night. (3) He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”
Fourth, I feed on the abundant life, living water and food that Jesus offers. In John 10:10 Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” While his disciples are tired and taking a food break from a long day of ministry, Jesus continues ministering to a dysfunctional woman. His disciples plead with Him to eat something, and Jesus tells them he ingests the food that comes from God the Father. This food empowered him with supernatural endurance to finish his mission (John 4).
Hey, don’t get me wrong. There is nothing sinful about drinking a cup of coffee. Coffee is a refreshing and stimulating drink for many Americans when sipped with savvy. The danger is when we rely on it to vitalize us instead of God. Why not make your first cup in the morning a drink of God’s Spirit?
Try it—I guarantee people will look at you and wonder what you have been drinking!
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