A Time of Refreshing

Ummmhhhh!

That’s what I just needed! It is so refreshing! This is a most common response after one has taken cold water or soda on a sunny afternoon! And in deed it is refreshing! The taste and the feeling thereafter results to a holistic relaxation. And who doesn’t want a relaxation!

To refresh is to revitalize, to enliven, to reinvigorate, to rejuvenate, to recharge and to revive! This is what exactly the Lord would want to do with you through this word. He wants to refresh you – to renew you, to energize you and to reposition you.

Throughout this past week, the Lord has been speaking to me about times of refreshing, times of comfort. In His word in Isaiah 40:1-5, the Lord God says,

“Comfort, comfort my people.” He continues to say “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and that her sins are pardoned. Yes, the Lord has punished her in full for all her sins.” (1-2).

Waah, what a refreshing word from the mouth of God!

Dear one, as you read this word, receive it as yours – the Lord says, receive comfort, be comforted. Be renewed, be strengthened! Receive His life and walk in it. Your sins are pardoned, you are free from the bondage of sin – short term and long term (eternal). Eternally, Jesus paid the price for you, he took away and really became a curse so you can receive His blessing. You are set free! Break free and walk in that freedom. Whatever bondage might have entangled you, exchange it with the freedom that Christ bought for you.

And in the short term, you may have gone through some tough times – in your family – with your children or spouse, in your other relationships, in your finances, at your place of work. We are not immune to the world system! You feel like you are in a desert – dry, withered with no hope. The Lord says, Be refreshed! Be comforted! It is over. Don’t let your faith be hindered by these life challenges!

You may even be at a worse place where you feel like what you are going through is as a result of a sin or sins in your life – the Lord says, it is finished! Your sins have been pardoned.
So arise and live in comfort and peace. For your sad days are gone!

Dear reader, I would like you to know that the kind of comfort God is offering to you is eternal! It endures, it changes not – and it is available to anyone who opens their heart to receive it. Jesus speaking to His disciples talked about the comforter and told them that “But the COMFORTER (Counsellor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the HOLY SPIRIT ….” (John 14:26 – Amp)

If we look closely to the above descriptions (names) of our comforter, the Holy Spirit, we realize that He is indeed a refreshing Spirit! He stands by us – at all times! Praise the Lord! He is our advocate: He is our strengthener, our helper and intercessor! He will refresh you, He will renew you no matter where you are at. But, there is one thing you have to do – allow him in and give him permission to refresh you.

Still in the scripture referenced above, (Isaiah 40:1-5), we see God further speaking and saying, “Make a highway for the Lord through the wilderness. Make a straight, smooth road through the desert for our God. Fill the valleys and level the hills. Straighten out the curves and smooth off the rough spots. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.

The Lord has spoken!” (3-5).

It is not God to make the highway, it is us – it is you and I to make a highway for the Lord to pass through the wilderness. Your circumstances, may have left you completely dry, worn out, so scotched by the sun, you feel feeble and weak. These have drained life out of you. But the Lord says that in that wilderness, make a highway for him to pass through! How will you do this? He says, straighten out, make a smooth road for him through the desert! And, fill the valleys and level the hills.

What are these curves, the valleys and the hills? Are there things that the Lord has been speaking to you about and you have been reluctant to heed to His voice? What double standards are you applying in your life? Is it at home? Is it at work? What is that hill that you have to level? What is that curve that you have to make straight? The Lord says, “Make a Highway for him in the Desert!” In the middle of the very challenges that are draining your strength, make a way! Your comforter is just waiting for you to say – Holy Spirit, take over, you who is my helper, help me. He is waiting for you to allow him to intercede for you, to stand by you as you relinquish what you are holding on which is not of God. Make that curve straight! And as you do this, the Lord shall pass through the Highway you have made for him and behold, He will reveal His glory! And all people will see it together!

It is a time of refreshing! Open the door to the comforter and receive His comfort!