Refreshing Souls

There's nothing better for filling up my soul than an hour or two out on the little lake near our house in my kayak.

Somehow I breathe more deeply when my paddle hits the water. 

I've only been out three times this summer (just because of life-stuff), but in some ways that makes me cherish the times I get to go all the more.

It never fails that I come back home refreshed. 

Yesterday was no different...

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REFRESH!

That word popped up numerous times this past week in a variety of circumstances. 

Interestingly it is sprinkled throughout the Old and New Testament of our Bibles, and as I did a word-search, I realized that it appears God created us with this need.

So, if you find yourself, as I do now and again, needing a little bit of a reset, just know you are not alone - and our need for replenishment is as unique and as individual as we are.

I love some of the Scriptures that I found with the word refresh, or refreshed, even refreshment tucked within the pages.

In Genesis, Abraham received a visit from three strangers. He could tell they had traveled far and were in need of "refreshment." So, he sat the three down under a tree, where they could escape the heat of the day, filled their water skins, and fed them from his own cook fire, in order to refresh their souls.

In 2 Samuel 16, David, whose son. Absalom, chased him out of the city in an attempt to take the throne, found himself exhausted and utterly depleted. Yet, David still found the time to "refresh himself in the Lord."

How? He tells us in Psalm 19, verse 7:  "The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul."

David must have spent time resting and reflecting on the words which the Lord spoke to him throughout his lifetime, all of which revitalize the heart.

One of my favorite passages is found in Jeremiah 31:25, "Thus says the Lord, 'I refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.'"

Of course, we can't ignore the fact, that the sage of Proverbs also tells us a sure way to refresh our hearts is when we spend time refreshing the hearts of others (Proverbs 11:25). 

I'm sure you are wondering at this point if I'm skipping God's commandment to us in Exodus. Expounding on His guideline to never forget to keep the Sabbath, in Exodus 23:12, the Lord says this: six days you shall work, and the seventh will be a Sabbath unto you, so that your spirits will be refreshed.

However, where all of this began is in the one chapter book in the New Testament I mentioned last week: The book of Philemon. 

Known to the church at Colossae as a loving, kind, faithful evangelist, Paul implored Philemon to do the one thing he did best: refresh the hearts of the saints. 

Philemon did not have a loveless faith, nor did he have a faithless love...his faith looked up to Jesus and then worked itself outward to his Savior's bride. 

Whatever else he did, he provided sacred space for folks to enter into his home, find rest and hospitality, in order to gather their strength and find renewed reason for LIFE. Re-energized!

So, Paul appeals to Philemon to keep on doing what he is doing...then, without saying it in oh-so-many-words, Paul lets Philemon know...

THE VERY BEST WAY TO REFRESH THE HEARTS OF SAINTS IS IN EXTENDING FORGIVENESS TO THOSE WHO SEEK IT. 

Sometimes, we can't offer a nearby lake to bless someone with refreshment, but we can give them the next-best-thing: FORGIVENESS. 

It might even be more refreshing. Smile.