“Like coolness of snow at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the spirit of his masters.” Proverbs 25:13
There are special relationships that energize and encourage. Their servant spirit empowers people in their path. Because they are trustworthy there is never a doubt they will do what they say in a timely and thorough manner. Refreshing people use encouragement to make sad spirits rise in hope and anticipation. “For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition” (1 Corinthians 16:18). Make sure you honor those who refresh you. Give them gratitude and pray for them to continue.
Where does their refreshment come from? How are they able to not exhaust its reserves? The Lord refreshes refreshing people. “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed” (Exodus 23:12). If work is your life then you have nothing left over to give. Learn to let the Lord regularly refresh your exhausted emotions.
Do you have a regular routine of receiving righteous refreshment from heaven? Perhaps you walk at your lunch break, listen to soothing music in the evening or read your Bible in the morning. Hike a mountain, swim in the sea or somehow engage in the beauty of God’s creation and you will be refreshed. Christ’s refreshment is waiting for those who are weary and worn out, “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint” (Jeremiah 31:25). Like a cold refreshment on a blistering hot day, the Lord’s love quenches thirsty hearts.
You feel the most spiritual after the Lord has refreshed your mind, body, soul and spirit, therefore be refreshed so you can refresh others. Who can I refresh with a kind word or comforting Scripture? Who do I know whose soul is shriveled in need of an infusion of hope and love? The Christian community is called to refresh those in the wake of its influence. “In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you” (2 Corinthians 7:14a). Refreshment is reciprocal, so receive it freely and give it freely for Christ’s sake.
Related Readings: Genesis 18:5; Proverbs 11:25; Romans 15:31-33; Philemon 1:20
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