SCRIPTURE
"Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." (Acts 3:19)
OBSERVATION
According to Peter it was "R & R" time, but not the "rest and relaxation" that we normally associate with the acronym. Instead, Peter's message centered on a call to the people to "repent and return" so that they could experience times of refreshing that comes from being in the presence of the Lord.
Peter's message is simple: refreshment comes from one source - "being in the presence of the Lord." Everyone can use a bit of refreshing today, especially considering the busyness with which we do life. Whether it's family, work or ministry responsibilities, life can get uncontrollably busy causing us to lose focus and misalign our priorities. If we're not careful, we'll find ourselves so caught up in the "stuff" of life and that its weight upon our shoulders becomes unbearable. We long to be refreshed, to steal away some time for rest and relaxation.
APPLICATION
But to experience such times of refreshing, it requires an intentional step on our part - to "repent and return." Repentance is a decision to change and turn away from the direction we've been heading and to refocus on the ways of the Lord. Weariness is often found under the weight of doing the same things again and again with no end in sight, which then leads to insanity - doing the same things, the same way over and over and expecting a different result. To break that cycle, something must change.
Maybe that change is found in redefining what life should be about. If we're brutally honest with ourselves, we seem to "do" so much in life for no one other than for ourselves - to boost our self-esteem, to accomplish our self-made goals, to satisfy our self-centered plans. We may disguise it in the name of doing this for God. But, life isn't about seeing what we can do for God; it's about aligning ourselves with Him so that we can be right with God in all that we do. And to be right with God, repentance is a non-negotiable, a willingness to change from our ways, to the Lord's ways, from our plans, to His plans, from who we are, to who He wants us to become.
My "R & R" time won't be found in vacations, journeys to "fantasylands." It won't be included in the achievements that I accomplish with my name attached to its label. I will be refreshed if, and only if, I am in the presence of the Lord. To be in His presence, there must be more of Him and less (none) of me. Repentance is unlocks that door to His presence in my life.
PRAYER
Father, thank you for your unconditional patience with me. May there be more of you and less of me that I experience today. Help me to see what I need to change of my ways, thoughts, feelings, and indeed make the changes so that I may be refreshed in your presence today.
