Refreshed in His Presence

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by Michelle Miller

Posted on 6/03/09.
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Are you tired and weary? Learn about waiting on the Lord and the refreshing that comes from His presence in these notes from our Camp Bible Study

Waiting on the Lord

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

To think about: What does it mean to you to "wait on the Lord"?

The word "wait" in this verse comes from the Hebrew word meaning to wait, to look for, to hope and to expect. It can also have the meaning of being twisted or braided together. The Bible equates it with seeking the Lord in Lamentations 3:25 and Psalm 69:6.

Joyce Meyer in her teaching Mount up on Wings like Eagles gives the illustration of long hair braided together. It becomes impossible to tell where one strand starts and the other stops. God wants us to be like this in our union with Him, where our characteristics become so much like His that we are a direct representative of Him on the earth.

When we begin to feel tired, weary or stressed out it is important to set aside some extra time to wait on the Lord and receive renewed strength from Him.

If we are to wait on the Lord and to be braided together with Him, we must first draw near to Him. We cannot be braided or twisted together with Him if we are far away from the Lord.

Repent and turn to the Lord

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19

Acts 3:19 shows us the first thing that we need in order to come to Jesus - a relationship with Him. We must repent and be converted. Repentance is turning from sin and involves our thoughts and our actions. Conversion is turning to God. Peter, in this instance, is referring specifically to an initial decision to follow Christ, but those of us who are Christians can learn from this as well, that we must deal with any sin in our lives when we come to the Lord to wait on Him. John, in his epistle, speaking specifically to Christians, says:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Cast Your Burdens on the Lord

Now that through the blood of Jesus we are in right-standing with God, we need to cast our burdens on the Lord.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.Psalm 55:22

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7

We bring our needs to the Lord because He is the all-powerful Creator God. He not only cares for us and will sustain us, but He is able to deal with and solve all our troubles. We are called to place all of our cares in His hands, because He is more than able to deal with them.

Enter into His Rest

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.Hebrews 4:9-11

To think about: What do you think it means to cease from our works? How can we enter His rest?

This passage speaks of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt, that they did not enter the Promised Land (the Land of Rest) because of unbelief and disobedience. We, therefore, can enter into His rest by faith because of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Spend Time with Him
An important part of this rest, and of waiting on the Lord, is spending time alone in His presence. Psalms tells us that waiting on the Lord includes prayer (Psalm 40:1), is based on His Word (Psalm 130:5) and can involve personal and corporate worship (Psalm 63:1-2). Ultimately it is His presence that will bring us refreshing.

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