Refueling is so important. With out gas in your tank your car won’t drive. If you don’t have enough gas in your tank to reach your destination, you won’t. Often times on the way to far off places you must refuel, one fill up won’t get you there. Our relationship with Christ and our subsequent success in this thing called life is dependent on refueling daily with God . I actually think there are many types of fuel, different portions and different categories in the fuel that supplies God’s people.
There IS that daily bread that is talked about through the bible. The kind that only comes daily. The kind that doesn’t last until tomorrow. The type of fuel that is only meant to carry you to the next day. This is the fuel I get in the quiet of the morning as I open God’s word and soak in his presence.
But there is this other kind of fuel that you need in order to continue on in this world that is not my home, to make a difference in this place where I am a foreigner. It’s the fuel that allows you to stay on this earth another day and not go completely crazy. This is more of a re-charge, re-set and re-fuel type of thing that lasts longer then a day but without it, I would not be as effective as a parent, employee, wife, citizen, or Jesus follower.
This re-fuel happens for me with time away from day to day life. It can happen while I’m at home but the best place I have found to get this is at the beach. I ran away there years ago in search of answers and to find courage to get free from the oppression I was facing. I’ve been there by myself and I’ve been there with family. I was married there. It doesn’t really matter what you do at the beach, there is something magical about the rhythmic motion of the waves, the surety of the ocean, that bring balance to my life and re-directs me, re-energizes me. The freshness of the air that is breathed deep into my lungs and the stability of the never changing beat of the waves brings a settling of my spirit like no other thing can.
As I laid in bed this weekend and watched the waves come in and out and in and out. As I heard the powerful crashes of the waves, I was reminded that when we are in the mix of it, when we are deep up to our necks in the messiness life offers, the waves still do their thing. The sun still rises and sets. The moon still cycles and the order of creation continues to be orderly. God is the same. He never changes, never wavers, never leaves you or forsakes you, He is a sure thing. I love the stability of it all. I believe the understanding of the firm foundation that my hope is built is the key to walking in this world. It’s the only thing that keeps me confident that I can do what God has laid before me and He alone is my source.
Today I remember that no matter what I face today the waves still roll. You can count on it!
Leave a Reply