Recharge your batteries with the holy words of God
In today’s world, it can easily happen that we are overwhelmed by a lack of strength, stress and fear in our daily lives. God gives us, through his holy word, the power to live out our personal calling. In order to fully utilise this power, we need to know the Word like Jesus through and through.
Today is the first Sunday after the big school summer holidays. I assume that many have had the opportunity for a holiday. After this break, we are hopefully refreshed to face the daily challenges with renewed strength. Certainly we all have big challenges, be it work, children, hobbies, volunteering or even physical difficulties. Most of the time, I started with renewed vigour after the holidays. Many things went much easier and with joy. But this energy is not permanent. Perhaps there are already some who are ready for holidays again. Hardly back, the reality of daily work shows itself, be it the pile on the office desk, a rejection, complaint, tasks or the children. There are many events that can drain our energy.
A week ago Saturday, just before school started, I wished that we as a family would not only survive the coming school year, but also thrive. It is easy, when we are challenged, to get involved in the Survival mode to fall into it. We humans are quite challenged in this day and age. The physical exertions, the mental demands, the spiritual struggle and the not to be underestimated emotional burdens. Joy and sorrow, success and failure, praise and criticism have to be dealt with constantly. There are the classic unloved chores like ironing, cleaning the bathroom, the gym, the tax return or working on relationships. The list of challenges is large.
The Bible gives us an insight into why we often struggle. In the story of creation we read: «The Lord God brought man into the Garden of Eden. He was to cultivate it and keep it»(Genesis 2:15 NLB). God entrusted the people with a job. At first everything was good, they enjoyed the wonderful and creative workGod had given them. Cultivating the garden was not a duty, but a right, a calling. God did not create man to toil, no, but for creative participation. Unfortunately, a chapter later, this divine design is already destroyed. The Fall sidelined the harmonious relationship with God, fellow human beings and our work. «Because of you, the soil shall be cursed! All your life you will toil to feed yourself from its yield. You depend on it for food, but it will always be covered with thorns and thistles. You will have to earn your bread with sweat until you die.»(Genesis 3:17–18 HfA). The life of the people became arduous, the work frustrating. Most of us are not farmers, it is not about weeding, it is often the problems, irritations with employees, superiors, the customers or the general trouble with charity. It is easy to get tired in life and to limit ourselves to the minimum.
God created us as creative creatures with a purpose, he has placed a vocation in us. Through Jesus, our great role model, we can learn how he managed to live out his destiny to the full. There are some clues as to where Jesus got this immense energy. I would like to briefly mention a few Features and there is one thing I would like to talk about in more detail afterwards:
- Jesus lived true love. This is also due to the fact that he was unconditionally loved by the Father. loved became. Before he started his official «work», the father said to him: «You are my beloved son about whom I rejoice with all my heart»(Luke 3:22 HfA).
- Jesus had a VisionHe knew his vocation: «He sent me to bring the good news to the poor»(Luke 4:18 HfA).
- He was married by the father and the Holy Spirit empowered: «The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me». (Luke 4:18 NLB).
- The last characteristic I mention is very interesting. Jesus knew the holy word of God through and through. After Jesus had fasted in the desert for forty days, at a very vulnerable moment, he was tempted by the devil several times. But with each temptation, he responded with: «The scripture says» (Luke 4:4, 8, 12 NLB). The Word of God gave Jesus the strength to withstand temptation in the powerless time (fast). The Scriptures will also give us the strength for our everyday challenges. In the next section I will discuss how incredibly strong this power is.
The Words of God – The Holy Scriptures – are powerful
God created the world with his words – the ultimate power. God’s word is the ultimate life-giver, pure power. Genesis chapter 1: «In the beginning God created heaven and earth.» «God said: Let there be light. And there was light.» In the Book to the Hebrews: «God’s Word is alive and full of power. The sharpest sword sharpened on both sides is not as sharp as this word»(Hebrews 4:12 NGÜ). God’s Word, the ultimate power, let us use it so that it does not lie fallow.
Since I came to faith in Jesus Christ, I have experienced the power of God’s holy word many times. There are some Bible passages that have become very important to me. I would like to mention three of them. First, from the Letter to the Colossians: «All that ye do, do it heartily as unto the Lord, and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the inheritance as a reward» (Colossians 3:23 LU 2017). This Bible verse has motivated me extremely to do unpleasant work. I remember the time as a bus driver at Surprise Reisen where I had to clean a lot. The 13-metre bus body, the toilet, the carpets and the window panes had to be clean and shiny. At the end of the whole ordeal, after many hours of driving, all the cleaning, the 40 m² of window panes had to be polished by hand. This verse often spoke to me. It moved me because I had learned it by heart. The Holy Spirit can bring a Bible verse to our attention at any time, but it is more likely that the verse will come to our mind if we know it by heart.
Another verse that gives me a lot of strength comes from Isaiah: «But those who trust in the Lord draw new strength, they get wings like eagles. They run and do not grow weary, they walk and do not become dull.t» (Isaiah 40:31 EÜ). What a promise! When we trust in the Lord, he renews the strength we need for the present moment.
This Bible passage speaks to me personally, especially in the English version: it is translated as «soar like eagles». «Soar» is a term from aviation that describes the use of updrafts. If you use the upwind, which is often thermal, you gain altitude almost without power. During my paragliding days I often used this power. I was able to fly over a hundred kilometres in one flight. I imagine the power of the Holy Spirit like this. We stretch our wings and he gives us the power that then moves us.
The third and last passage I would like to mention is already known to many. It comes from the Letter to the Philippians: «All things I can do through Christ, who gives me strength and power» (Philippians 4:13 HfA). These words came to my mind this week on a long bike ride. In summary, it is only with God’s power that we can fully live out our calling and make a difference in this world. «We are His creatures, created in Christ Jesus to do in our lives the good works God has prepared for us in advance» (Eph. 2:10 EÜ). Jesus used the incredible power of the holy Word of God to live out his calling. We too should and must allow ourselves to be replenished from this mighty source: «Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God»(Luk 4:4 ELB).
Possible questions for the small group
Read the Bible text: Luke 4:4
- Did you have a holiday? Do you feel recovered? How long does this recovery last?
- In what areas of your life do you feel powerless?
- Are you tempted to master your Christian life with your own strength?
- Do you have enough strength to live out your vocation?
- How do you draw new strength?
- Do you experience the power of the holy word of God?
- Do you know Bible verses? Is there a Bible verse that gives you a lot of strength?
- Which verse do you want to learn by heart?
