Weekend Review

"God is good" is often spoken or written by individuals who reflect on the goodness and greatness of God.  I was reminded by the Spirit that God is truly "good" to His people as He releases the ministering presence of His Spirit into our lives.  The Spirit began to deal with my heart concerning the need for the church to be "refreshed" during a recent meeting in Greenville, SC.  The family of God is facing times of extreme anxiety; emotional pressure from various sources; economic pressure to reach the budgetary needs of their family; and an increased onslaught of the attacks of satan.  How will we respond to these challenges and many more that time and space will not allow me to identify is one of the questions that each of us must answer?  We must realize that we need to respond to these situations in the correct way for the sake of our own soul as well as the souls of those family and friends that are so dear to us.  The people around us need to see the appropriate response so that our witness for Christ can be strengthened and not diminished.  The enemy of our soul seeks to "eat away" at our peace and rest in Christ much the same way a child nibbles at a cracker or cookie.  Slowly but surely the enemy seeks to undermine our walk with Christ through hurts, disappointments, discouragements, temptations, and countless other struggles.  But we do have an anti-dote to these attacks from the enemy.

Our hope is found in the refreshing promise and presence of the Spirit in our lives.  Much of my hope is based on the promise found in Acts 3:19b, "...so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord" (NKJV).  The struggles and challenges of life have a way of discouraging our hope, faith, and dreams that have come from the Lord.  Each of us must learn to put our trust in the Lord during the times of struggle as well as the times of blessings.  It is easier to walk with God when all is well and our life is being lived in ease and comfort.  But those difficult moments challenge us to look to Christ for a "fresh" revelation of His presence and power.  It is during those moments that we learn to live in the promise of Acts 3:19.  We began to realize that God can restore the breath that may have been knocked out of us due to the challenges of the moment.  We must remember that God has not forgotten or forsaken us even when we walk through the seasons of dryness in our lives.  God is ever present to minister to us as we turn our attention to Him and the promises in His Word.  Each of us need to walk in the strength of the refreshing presence of Christ.  We were able to witness people receive the strength of refreshing on Sunday as they responded to the call from God.  We must never be afraid or intimidated to respond to the call from God.  God always has a plan to minister to your life when He calls you to draw closer to Him.  I am still learning that I need to trust in God and follow the leading of His Spirit at all times.  God has a plan for each of our lives and that plan contains "times of refreshing."