Recharge

It’s something all of us probably do multiple times a day. As a matter of fact, you might be doing it right now while you’re reading this article. We all have devices, whether a phone, tablet, or laptop, that have to be plugged in and recharged. As of today, there is no battery in an iPhone, iPad, or other electronic devices that will never die, so we have to recharge them. While this is something we commonly do for our devices, how often do we spend time recharging ourselves? 

No, I don’t mean how often we plug ourselves into the power outlet (which, to be clear, I DO NOT recommend doing). What I mean is how often do we take time to build our energy back after a long week or stressful day? Let’s admit it: life is full of things that can wear us out and drain us—work, school, bills, family, etc. At the end of the day, all we want to do is sit down and do nothing for a few minutes to briefly relax and recharge. For some of us, recharging is sitting down with a good book or making something creative like painting or drawing. Others might recharge by spending time with friends or family, playing a sport, or just working out. Though there are many ways to gain back some of the energy we have lost throughout the week, how often do we recharge by spending time with God?

When we look at the life and ministry of Jesus, there is no question concerning how busy He was. Performing miracles, teaching large crowds, traveling all over Israel, He would most certainly be pretty tuckered out from time to time. How did Jesus recharge from all the work He was doing? He spent time with the Father. The gospel of Mark notes following a day of healing and casting out demons that “Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there” (1:35). Similarly, Luke records that “Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray” (Luke 5:16). When He needed time to regain His energy and spirit, Jesus would go to God in prayer. Even when He was only hours away from being hung on a cross, Jesus spent crucial moments with the Father for strength and peace (Matthew 26:39-44; Mark 14:36, 39; Luke 22:42). If He spent time to recharge with the Father, why don’t we?

While we take time to recharge, we can often spend those moments “plugging in” to the wrong things. We choose to spend those minutes browsing the internet or scrolling mindlessly through Facebook, allowing ourselves to be fed by the world. Do those things really enable us to recharge? To revive and renew our spirits throughout the week? It would as though the more we try to recharge from those avenues, the more we have a need to recharge. There is a much better way to regain the energy we need—we too should spend time with God. Whether praying for the peace of mind, rest, patience, or just calm in the time of storms, the Lord is the greatest source of what we need to recharge. Paul describes Him as “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3). The Lord Himself has said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Life is hard. We have a need to recharge. In those times, let’s put down those phones, turn off those TVs, and spend some time with the Lord!