Needing a Recharge
O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you!
— Psalm 63:1-3
When I travel, I take my laptop with me to work on my messages. But often I must work off the battery, so whenever I have the opportunity, I will plug in to the nearest electrical outlet. Why? Because my battery runs down and needs a recharge.
Sometimes that's the way it is for us as believers. We come to church and get plugged in spiritually. Then we try to run off that energy all week long. We don't realize we need the power of Christ at all times, in every situation, every conversation, every circumstance in which we find ourselves. In other words, we need a constant power source. We need to be plugged in all the time.
In Psalm 63, David was praying, "Lord, I want to walk with you all the time. Yes, I have seen your glory in the sanctuary, but I want that all week long."
I can't help but think of the prophet Elijah, who became physically, emotionally, and spiritually depleted in his warfare with the enemies of God. An angel of the Lord found him curled up under a bush in the desert, wanting to die. The angel provided him with some bread, let him rest, and then woke him up for another heavenly meal. The angel said, "Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you" (1 Kings 19:7). We, too, become run down and spiritually depleted. And God has a wonderful meal waiting for us every day in the Word of God, served by the Holy Spirit Himself.
Elijah needed to plug in again, and so do we. We need to make time for God and His Word in our day. Sometimes that means just grabbing it where we can. Read some Scripture verses when you get up in the morning. Listen to some worship or a Bible study on your way to work or school. Take the moments where you can find them to plug in and stay tapped into all that God has for you.