It's Friday, and I'm tired!

Following is the object lesson or devotion we will share with the AWANA Leaders at our meeting tonight. Just thought it really applies to each one of us, no matter what the activity might be.

It’s the end of the day – YEAH! Who is tired?
It’s also the end of a week! Makes you even more tired thinking about it, right?
I just want to encourage you! You may be lacking energy and motivation right now, but let’s look at the Word of God and see what it says to help us with our tiredness.

Energy - you had a lot of it when you started working in the specific program or activity for the Lord. You had a passion, a drive, and a goal. Maybe you thought, I can work in such n such and help the church. I can help the director, he/she is my friend. Maybe you thought I can be used of the Lord and help my pastor at the same time. Ummm…..all good points. Yes, you were right.

But now your tired. You feel worn out. You could easily stay home, but how do you regain the initial passion, drive and goal? We already know that our resource is the Lord. All that we need comes from Him. Within Him lies the answers to our questions. It is only through His strength that we can perform at a peak performance. Remember scripture tells us that “I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength.”

Let’s look at a practical life situation first…
Here’s a sponge. You’ve used one before, I’m sure. It’s absolutely got a purpose to be effective. Using a sponge ‘dry’ just doesn’t work. It’s scratchy. It’s not easy to manage. A sponge is more effective when it’s filled with water. Think of yourself as the sponge. We need to be filled with the Living Water to be most effective, to work well. In fact, if we are filled to overflowing, just like the sponge we have more water than we need and it can be spread around.

Now think back to the sponge in it’s original condition when I picked it up. It was dried out. It will dry out again if I leave it out of water for any length of time. It actually becomes useless and does nothing good except collect surface dirt. It cannot be effective in making any changes to the environment when it’s dry.

Now, if we continue to look at our lives as sponges, that tells me that we need to be refreshed with new water continually to be useful. We need to go back to our Source, the Living Water, and dip into it often. That way we may be purified, ready for the next challenge, renewed, and ready to spread around what we have.

So, if you or I are feeling dried out, worn down, and tired, we need to go back to our first love, our heavenly Father, for refreshing. In Proverbs 18:6 it speaks of the “fountain of wisdom is like a bubbling brook and anyone who drinks of the Spirit will be filled!” Did you get that? ….will be filled! In Psalms 63:1 it says, “Oh God, you are my God. Early will I seek You. My soul thirsts for You. My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.”

Our daily quiet time with the Lord will prevent us from getting dried out! We will remain filled if we seek Him daily. And that is when He can use us effectively. Has he given you the passion, drive and goal to serve Him in a specific way. Then He will give you the energy to do His will.