Refueling Myself

In review of Lamentations 3:22-24 it reminds me that “The LORD’s kindness never fails! If he had not been merciful, we would have been destroyed. The LORD can always be trusted to show mercy each morning. Deep in my heart I say, ‘The LORD is all I need; I can depend on him!” (CEV).

Today’s passage from Lamentations 3 reminds me that the faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I can say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”

Regardless of the sin and sorrow that may surround me, "The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease." God will willingly respond with help when I ask. No matter what sin I've committed, he promises his forgiveness. Therefore, trusting in God's faithfulness day by day makes me more confident in his great promises for the future.  

Emotional exhaustion isn’t new. It’s also not something foreign to the Bible. The book of Lamentations provides plenty of examples.

When Jeremiah wrote the book, Jerusalem had been captured. The Israelites were in exile. Everything Jeremiah held sacred had been destroyed. He was emotionally exhausted, and for an entire book of the Bible, Jeremiah releases his frustrations and expresses his emotions to God. In the midst of these complaints, he refocuses on God. He writes, “Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this” (Lamentations 3:21 NLT).

What brought Jeremiah hope during this very difficult time? He answers immediately: “The Lord’s kindness never fails! If he had not been merciful, we would have been destroyed. The Lord can always be trusted to show mercy each morning. Deep in my heart I say, ‘The Lord is all I need; I can depend on him!’” (Lamentations 3:22-24 CEV).

Jeremiah refocuses on five truths about God that helped to refuel him in the midst of his exhaustion.

He remembers:

. God’s Steadfast love

. God’s Unfailing mercy

. God’s Great faithfulness

. That God is Always kind

. That God is my Real hope

When life overwhelms me, I shouldn’t focus on my problems or give in to despair. Instead focus my attention on God himself. If I do these things it can help refuel me.

If I build my life around those character traits of God, then I’ll be ready for whatever setback comes my way.

In summary, the faithful love of the Lord never ends. He is faithful and His mercies are new each day! God will willingly respond with help when I ask. He promises his forgiveness. In my emotionally exhausted state, I can release my frustrations and emotions to God. Then place my focus on Him with these five truths: God's steadfast love, unfailing mercy, faithfulness, kindness and hope. So when life overwhelms me, I shouldn't focus on my problems or give into despair. Instead focus my attention on God himself.

In the midst of frustration and exhaustion I can come to the Lord. He will help when I ask. He will show his faithful love and mercies. I just need to change the focus from myself to Him. Today Father I pray for the Holy Spirit to help remind me of these truths and that I can get over my stubbornness and self centered focus. I ask Father for your wisdom and guidance for my day, for my leadership and my interactions with others. These things I pray in your Son Jesus name, amen.

Learning How to Refuel My Tank

In review of 1 Corinthians 13:7 it says, “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance”

Bottom Line:

Love always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres.

What this means to me:

Love as illustrated on my behalf will never give up, lose faith, be hopeful, and would endure through every circumstance.

Today's passage comes from 1 Corinthians 13 where Paul is explaining how love is the greatest. Starting in verse 4 he says, Love is patient and kind, it is not jealous, boastful, proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable and keeps no records of being wronged. It doesn't rejoice about injustice but rather rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Lastly he tells me that love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

This means that the kind of love that really makes a difference in this world requires a big effort on my part, but I will enjoy huge rewards from it.

Interestingly enough I find times when I just don’t feel like I have any more love to give. The job has been extremely people-intensive and I come home and think, “I just can’t face another need, another problem, or another heartache.” So I just shut down and veg.

I’ve also experienced times when I need to show love to a particular person who is demanding, selfish, and never returns my love. And I think to myself, “I’m done. No more.”

While that’s perfectly natural and perfectly human, it’s not the standard of love God calls me to as written by Paul. This verse reminds me that, “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (1 Corinthians 13:7 NLT). Love never gives up.

So how can I have that kind of patient love for another person? I need to get refueled.

To give the kind of patient love that God wants me to give, I have to refuel my love tank. It's easy to see all around me the debris from relationships that have crashed and burned because people didn’t refuel their love.

What I’m learning is that I refuel my love tank by letting God love me. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NIV). When I’m worn out, tired, and can’t imagine showing love to anyone else, remember that God loved me so much that he sent his Son to die for me.

That’s real fuel. It’s what will keep me going when I want to just quit.