Today's Devotional

April 24, 2008

Subject: Too Worn Out To Reach Out

Isaiah 57:15 "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

After three years of teaching at Willowridge High School, I've learned that April is the month that always kills me. There are so many activities and so many things to prepare for that by the end of the month I feel like I'm just about to drop dead. I've even been too tired to make it to the gym for my workout for the past couple of weeks. I feel beat.

Yesterday we did our "Wednesday Walk." The Wednesday Walk is where we go door to door in our church community to meet and greet local neighbors and invite them to worship. I was really worn out as I traveled the twenty minutes it takes to get to the church. However, a few minutes later and after talking to strangers about worshipping with us, I felt great.

I think a lot of what we do in this world can really wear us down and that's intentional by God. He uses it to see if we're too tired, too worn out, too anything for Him. If we are then we've missed it. When He talks about "His burden" being light in the book of Matthew, I believe He's speaking to His ability to revive us when we're doing His business. Of course everything we're doing should be a part of His plan, but the motivation really comes when our hearts are revived. I really like an acronym that I heard used by Charles Stanley. He said, H-A--L-T. "Don't let yourself get too Hungry, too Angry, too Lonely or too Tired."

If we are any of those things, we need to pray today for God to revive our hearts and spirits. May I further suggest that if you are really, really worn out, try reaching out. As God has shown, He can bring people back from the dead so it's really no problem for Him to revive you too.

Carlen