Refreshments Served

I love refreshments  served at church.  When I was a little girl growing up in church we always had some kind of refreshment in between service.  It was ginger snaps and lemonade after Sunday School and in the afternoon program services it was always cake and punch.  We would line up and wait patiently as we were served something light to help get us through the next service or to take home with us.  Now as I look back, they may not have been the healthiest of food choices but the main idea of leaving refreshed was a very healthy choice.  The story of the lame man being healed in Acts 3 is a refreshing one to me.  Peter and John had no silver or gold to give him, but they gave him Jesus Christ who was the healer.  The man’s feet and ankles were strengthened by Peter’s prayer in which he called on the name of Jesus.  God healed him and gave him refreshment, a testimony and a story to tell for the rest of his life.  In verse 19 of that same chapter in Acts, it tells us times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord.  It is only when we repent of our sins and turn to God that we experience true refreshment.  Just like the Sunday snacks or light refreshments I was served at church, being in God’s presence always helps me get through life’s journey.  Some days I feel like I’m sitting at a gate just waiting for a miracle of some sort. I want someone to come by with refreshments.  I want to be offered something more that will cause me to rise up and walk.  My feet and ankles are tired, I get weak, both physically and mentally.  I want to just sit down sometimes and do nothing. No serving, no thinking, no feeling, no dreaming and no helping or encouraging.  That’s when I know I need refreshment.  I need to pray and spend time in the presence of the Lord.  Sometimes God sends people, a text or a phone call.  Sometimes I intentionally pause and take a few moments to pray.  I  ask God to strengthen and refresh me.  Are you sitting at a gate today?  Will you allow God’s presence to  provide you with  what you need to get through it all?  I guarantee His presence will have you leaping, walking and praising His name in no time.

Prayer: Dear Lord thank you for your presence today.  There really is nothing like it.  Refresh me and renew my strength today.  Help me walk again, strengthen my feet and my ankles when I feel like I’m collapsing or sitting down too long.  I confess my sins to you, for you alone are able to make me rise up in this situation. Give me hope and strength for today, in the name of Jesus.  Amen.