Spiritual Renewal

The second point I’d like to make is that the source of the renewal and the refreshing we need is God. Listen closely, because this is key. Not God plus, but God alone. His grace is absolutely sufficient. Nothing else is necessary. As Paul tells us this in his second letter to the Corinthians:

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’" – 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

The problem was that Paul had a painful physical affliction of some kind. It was making him weary and discouraged. It was interfering with his ministry. And so Paul looked at his situation and determined that what he needed, in order to be refreshed, was to have his suffering brought to an end. He needed to feel better. Most of us in his situation would feel the same way. The obvious solution would be to remove the so-called "thorn". But God told him that was not necessary. All he really needed was God’s presence and power working in his life. And in order to prove it, God promised to strengthen, and encourage, and renew Paul spiritually without relieving his suffering, without making any change in his circumstances.

What this means is that when we are in need of spiritual renewal; when we are in need of strength and encouragement, what we need is God. Period. Not a change in circumstances, not relief from our pain. But knowing and fellowshipping with God. Now, is that what people typically try first? No. What people usually do when they’re weary and discouraged is to try a combination of things – going out to eat, taking a long walk, taking a day off from work, visiting with some friends. And then they’ll add God to the mix – some prayer, some Bible reading, attending church. But they don’t go to God first, and they don’t seek relief in God alone. And that’s a problem. Because if we rely on other things instead of God, or even in addition to God, we’re not living by faith. We’re not taking seriously what the Bible says, which is that God’s grace is entirely sufficient. And to the extent that our reliance on other things causes us to rely less on God, our weariness and our weakness will remain.

Let me pause, then, briefly and ask you -- are you looking to God alone for refreshing and for strength? Not that God can’t use people or changes in our circumstances to bring encouragement, but are you relying on those means, or on God? It may seem like a fine distinction, but it’s a crucial one. If we’re relying on God alone to meet our need for renewal, whether he does it through the direct work of the Holy Spirit in our heart, or whether he does it through some other means, then we’re on the right path. But if we look to the means themselves as the solution to our need, then we’ve missed the boat. Our trust and reliance must be in God alone.