But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost
is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem,
and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the
earth. –Acts 1:8 (KJV)
I was reading an online blog recently by a pastor who
was going through some intense personal struggles. He made the
statement that he was exhausted physically, spiritually, and emotionally
and he feared he could not get up for one more push. Those words
resonated with me because I have an understanding of how this feels.
Perhaps you do as well. Many of us, whether we are church leaders
or laypersons, often struggle with these issues of feeling overwhelmed
with life and all its pressures. The late pastor Dr. Adrian Rogers
once said in a sermon on handling stress that there are three areas
which create stress for us. They are adversity, opportunity, and
necessity.
Dr. Rogers stated adversity is unexpected problems
which come our way. Opportunity is the pursuits we would like
to do if and when we have occasion to pursue them. Necessity is
what we have to do each day, such as work our jobs, take care of our
children, and keep our homes clean and livable. Any or all of
these have the potential to create stress in our lives. Stress,
if not properly dealt with, can drain us and leave us exhausted.
Once stress gets hold of us we too begin to wonder if we are able to
get up for one more push.
This is why prayer, the Word of God, and fellowship
with other believers are so vital to our spiritual health. Following
this is our physical health which also must be addressed. A healthy
diet and regular exercise are God-honoring pursuits which will help
us with the load of stress we all carry. With God’s help we can
rise up for another push forward, and this Holy Spirit lead push is
not a onetime event, but rather becomes a daily process of walking with
Christ. Do not surrender to despair and the overwhelming feelings
of dread that may be coming into your life. The Lord knows and
understands how you feel.
After the resurrection, Jesus told the disciples
they would receive power. The power to which Jesus referred is
Holy Spirit power for sharing the gospel with a lost and hurting world.
The same power that helps us to share the gospel with others also empowers
us to rise up and go forward even in the midst of the daily stresses
of life. As followers of Christ we are called to walk forward
in faith regardless of whatever difficult circumstances we are facing.
Be encouraged today and claim the power Jesus freely
gives. Like the pastor I read about, you too may feel you are
unable to get up for one more push. The Lord knows how you feel,
and He will strengthen you today to keep going.
God bless you today.
