Thursday Thoughts - Replenished

I wrote up a devotional to be shared at our Church Council meeting last night.  However, a member of the group reached out with a meditation they wished to share.  It was a very needed and quite timely message, and one I was very glad to hear and take in.

But the words from my written devotional were still on my heart, so as seems to be my tradition now, I share them here.

Sparkle Gets Replenished

Replenished

“You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?  You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.  You will increase my honor, and comfort me once again.” – Psalm 71:19b-21 (NRSV)

So, last month I wrote about being Depleted.  Because that was how I was feeling and I’m sure others were too.  Maybe even now some are still feeling depleted.  I’m writing this on Monday afternoon and I was sure by now I was going to feel depleted because I was going and going and going all day Sunday starting at 4:30am.  But I’m not.  I may be a bit tired.  But, I feel Replenished.

When I talked last month, I said we replenish our bodies of things they need.  It can be done in many ways, like sleeping or eating or drinking something.  And that is just how to replenish ourselves if we are tired or hungry or thirsty.  We find many different ways to replenish ourselves of other things too.  Sometimes we may want to get outdoors and do something like walking, hiking, biking, or just having a moment of peace to watch the sun set.  (That last one has become my recent weekend practice.)  Maybe it is catching up with an old friend or a family member you haven’t talked to in a while, just to replenish that relationship.  There are so many things that one can do to replenish whatever you need. 

I do feel like, for me, this past season of Lent had me thinking a lot about being depleted and replenished.  In a recent sermon, Pastor Jody said that “Lent provides us space to find self-discovery and to help us grow.”  For me, considering being depleted and replenished has been part of my growth process and self-discovery.  I can’t speak for anyone else, but I know that is the case for me.

The brief selection from Psalm chapter 71 also speaks to being replenished.  We may have many things thrown our way.  The Psalmist talks of many troubles and calamities they have seen.  Maybe we have troubles and calamities.  Maybe there is a lot of stress at our jobs or in our families.  Maybe there are health issues.  Or something else entirely.  But God will always revive us.  God will help us find a way to replenish ourselves.  God will bring us up again.

This happened very recently to me – in fact, it happened on Sunday.  I blogged about it where I listed over 30 reasons why I had, literally, the best Easter ever.  This was after three insanely stressful days at work, including one day where I worked until about 7pm and one day where I was stuck in a building for a long period of time without a break and a way to replenish myself.  God brought me back up again.  God revived me, not only through a day off on Saturday but the many joys that Easter was filled with.

I pray that you all continue to find your replenishment for whatever situation you are in.  Know that God will always revive us, sometimes in ways very obvious to us and sometimes in ways we do not expect.  God will revive us and replenish us, always.