I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. (Jeremiah 31:25)
Are you feeling in need of refreshment lately? If you are anything like me, I’ll bet you are! And how glorious and gratifying it is to know that we do not need to put up a false front, feel guilty, or feign strength when we come before the God who has promised to bring refreshment to the weary. Indeed, Scripture encourages us to “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
I say it here often, but I truly believe that you and I cannot be reminded often enough that our God has promised to meet us in our deepest place of need — not just daily, but moment by moment. In today’s passage from Jeremiah, the need is refreshment. Perhaps you have been experiencing a season of difficulties at work or challenges at home. Maybe you have been disciplined by your loving Father in heaven for having wandered from the path He has set before you. Possibly you are dealing with some kind of loss in your life. Take heart! God has promised to refresh your weary soul.
Take a moment drink in this message of comfort that God gave to Jeremiah. This promise does not apply to those who are working in their own strength. Those who are self-reliant and self-sufficient know nothing of the promise of refreshment from God. Only those who have nothing left in and of themselves, who have reached the end of the proverbial rope and find themselves at rock bottom, know the refreshment of God. Like Paul, they exult that “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).
If anyone might have been tempted to work in his own strength, it was the apostle Paul. He was at the head of his class when it came to education and abilities. But when he was called by God, Paul was confronted with the painful truth that he could do nothing apart from Christ. He also came to understand the powerful truth, apart from Christ, there could be no refreshment. When we read about the intense persecution Paul suffered for the sake of the Gospel, we can be assured that he experienced physical, emotional, mental, and even spiritual exhaustion. But he knew the fountain from Whom all blessings flow . . . and one of those blessings is refreshment.
Our journey of faith is a long and winding road, dotted with many jarring potholes and plenty of unexpected twists and turns; refreshment is required along the way if we are going to finish our race. Regardless of where this finds you, look to Jesus. Receive His refreshment, which will renew your mind, recalibrate your heart, and realign your will to live the life God has called you to live.
Refreshment is required. Have you received it today?
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 