I’ve had two converging thoughts going on for the past few weeks:
- God speaks. It is his breath that creates the universe and mankind. It is his breath of life which gives new life to dead souls. God is actively breathing into you.
- I can’t run on empty forever. I shared about the different things I’ve been doing to recharge my writing batteries, but it opens up a larger discussion. None of us can give unless given to. We all need breath in order to breathe. We all need to be recharged in order to do good work.
These two subjects are intimately related, in my thinking. But there’s varying opinions about how they’re related.
- One group takes the line that God speaks to us all the same, so we all must do a few specific things to recharge. We all must open the Bible to hear, inviting the Spirit of God to speak to us through the Word of God. We all must pray. We all must join a church community.
- Another group believes that God speaks in varying, changing ways, so we must know ourselves in order to recharge. If I find joy and energy from reading, I should read. If I find joy and energy from exercise, I should exercise. If I find joy and energy out in nature I should get outdoors as often as possible. God will then speak to me through those activities/venues.
The problem with these two camps is that they see the answer lying exclusively with their line of thought, but in my experience a third path has been quite fruitful. It’s typically when I start relying one or the other that I eventually burn myself out.
So if you’re running low on zeal for life I’d encourage you to take some time to evaluate how you are recharging. Are you relying on your own preferences? Are you following a checklist? Neither can fulfill your desire in and of themselves.
How do you go about refueling yourself?
