It’s been a long election season and an exhausting week, so let me tell you a story that has nothing to do with politics or elections. I know very little about cars. I know how to fill the gas tank, but that’s it. I don’t know the difference between a 6 cylinder or 8 cylinder, in fact I don’t know what a cylinder is or what it does. My first car was used and when it started making some engine noise people told me I should check the oil. So I did. I checked the oil for weeks and it was always fine. When the knocking noise got really bad I took it to a garage and the guy asked if I had checked the oil. I said yes, but he told me there was no oil in the car. I said, that can’t be right and then he showed me. All I could say was, oh… is that the oil? I thought this other stick was for the oil. Let’s just say my car had all the antifreeze it needed - but no oil.
Now after that, you might think I would be on top of the oil change thing, but when I bought a new car I didn’t know I needed to change the oil - it was a new car. Well over a year later I was getting it serviced and they asked me where I had been getting my oil changed, and I said, what oil change? I hadn’t destroyed this car, but it had engine trouble the entire time and then one day years later the engine just stopped as I was on I-80. I want to assure you that when I bought my last car I did the smart thing and now have my own private mechanic who makes sure it is in good order.
So why am I telling you my embarrassing car stories? It’s because too many of us live life the way I used to treat my car. We just keep going and going until we are worn out and used up. We never stop for an oil change or a checkup. The big difference is that when we drive our car into the ground, we can get a new car, but we can’t do this with our lives or our relationships. When we wear our lives out and burn up our relationship because of the pace we are living, we often can’t go back and fix things. We were not created to go non-stop in life, we were created for times of rest and even seasons of reflection, so today we want to talk about the transformative power of renewal.
It’s important to understand that renewal is part of God’s plan for all of life. In creation the work of the day gives way to the rest of the night. The fall and winter seasons allow the ground to be renewed for new growth the following year. Animals require rest and some animals actually hibernate through seasons in order to stay alive. Jesus, the Son of God, needed periods of renewal where he got away from the crowds to rest and gain perspective, and even God rested after his 6 days of work in creation. I’m not sure if God needed rest or if He rested in order to show us the importance of it in the created order. Renewal was so important to God that he commanded us to take times of renewal on a weekly basis saying, Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
The Sabbath, or a day to not work, has always been part of God’s plan, and when God gave this command, think of what a gift it was to the people. The people of Israel had spent 400 years in captivity working as slaves. Slaves don’t get days off or weeks away for a vacation, so what a gift it must have been for them to hear God actually command them to stop working for one day each week.
It’s still a command for us today, but it is one we routinely ignore thinking that somehow we know better. When we fill our days off with more work - only in different areas - we are not being renewed. When all of our days are focused on the things of this world, and how we need to get more done so we can get ahead and help our family get ahead, we are not returning to the source of life to find strength in a way that will help us live faithfully and fully for the long haul. Renewal is important to our lives, and faith, and wellbeing, so let’s talk about how to be renewed.
Colossians 3:10. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. (NLT)
Paul is saying that renewal is related to both knowing God and becoming like God. Renewal comes when we are willing to deepen our relationship with God and intentionally find ways to walk with God and be more like Jesus, who was God in the flesh. As we grow in this relationship, there are two specific ways that God will renew us, and the first is to be renewed in spirit.
King David got to a place in his own life where he was wearing himself out. He was not attending to his relationship with God, and therefore not making good decisions in his leadership and his relationships. After he had committed adultery, and then plotted to have the husband of the woman killed, David was confronted with his emptiness, brokenness, and completely wrecked life. This is what David prayed: Psalm 51:10-12
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
What is important to remember about this prayer is that David doesn’t ask God to renew his spirit once he has regained his strength and perspective, he asks God to renew him, to literally make him new, in the midst of his brokenness. David has just been confronted with the reality of what he has done, his sin and guilt and shame stand before him, and it’s in that condition that he doesn’t fold but asks God to renew his spirit.
When we have run ourselves into the ground, and are dealing with our own strained relationships or poor choices, we don’t have to clean up our mess before we get help. In the midst of the mess, in the midst of being tired, beat up, and feeling used up and empty we can ask God to renew us - and God will. Renewal starts with our spirit and then spreads to every corner of our lives, and renewal starts when we acknowledge our own broken spirit. Let’s go back and see what David said before he asked God to renew his spirit.
For I know my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
And done what is evil in your sight;
So you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
Sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
You taught me wisdom in that secret place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
Let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Psalm 51:3-9
Renewal for David comes after he has acknowledged his sin, his emptiness, and his failures. Renewal comes by confronting the ways we have been living outside of God’s will, and asking God to not only forgive us, but to set us on a better path - to be made new.
For many of us, we might need to acknowledge that we have ordered our lives in a way that has kept God out and placed ourselves at the center of all we think and do. Renewal can’t take place as long as we are lying to ourselves about our ability. Thinking that we don’t need days of rest, or a season of rest, is like running a car without oil. Eventually we will break down. Eventually our relationships will suffer, our mental health will decline, and our physical bodies will wear out. We have to confess the ways we have wandered from God’s plan for us and ask God to help set us right.
Confession, forgiveness, and repentance, a turning away from the old way and the old self to follow a new way and to put on a new self, is how we are renewed in spirit. This is only half of the renewal process. God also wants us to be renewed in strength.
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)
Once again we see that renewal comes when we are willing to wait on the Lord. It comes when we are willing to not get so far ahead of God that we are on our own path and doing our own thing, but actually slowing down to wait on God to be with us and to actually give us the strength we need.
Elijah was one of the great prophets in the Old Testament and after a strenuous time of working for God he was exhausted. He had used up every ounce of strength he had and was feeling completely spent and empty. Can anyone relate to that today? It’s been a long and stressful 9 months and we haven’t been able to get any kind of real rest or time away. Days off are just filled with worry and anxiety about the future, and while we might feel like we are doing less, we are stressing more! Or maybe you feel like you are doing more and stressing more.
This is how Elijah felt and he did what many of us might only dream of doing, he ran away. He ran into the wilderness, sat down, and basically told God that he was spent and done. He had no more to give, no more to draw from, so God might as well take his life. But God didn’t take Elijah’s life, he renewed his strength.
Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 1 Kings 19:5-8
When Elijah stopped running, he began to wait, and as he waited, literally as he slept, God showed up and not only gave him rest but strength. Twice God told Elijah to eat, and when he did his strength was renewed and he received enough physical strength to go for 40 days. Not only did the rest and nourishment help Elijah but when he went to Mt. Horeb, God told him to wait again until he actually experienced the power of God’s presence.
As Elijah waited on the Lord this time, a strong wind came and shook the mountain, but God was not in the wind. Then there was a great earthquake that shook the foundation of the mountain but God was not in the earthquake. Then came a fire but God was not in the fire. This time Elijah didn’t run to find God or work to serve God, he just waited, and finally, in the sound of sheer silence, God not only showed up but God spoke up, and God gave Elijah direction for his future. God said, Elijah, I have renewed your strength now go back and serve me.
This is what it looks like to wait on the Lord. We run to God and rest. We turn to God for nourishment, and we listen to God for direction. But nothing happens until we stop and wait. Nothing happens until we honor the command to keep the Sabbath and literally stop and wait for God to renew us.
My first couple of years as a pastor I had this foolish idea that everything in the church depended on me. I loved what I was doing, I loved the people, and I wanted to do everything I could to serve God and them, so I worked every day. I didn’t take a day off most of my first year in ministry and even after almost completely burning out, I didn’t learn my lesson and much of my second year I also didn’t honor the Sabbath. Let’s just say I was running very low on oil. It wasn’t until friends of mine, and the church leaders, literally told me I could not work on Monday and I could not go to the office that I learned the value of the Sabbath and rest.
Not only did my life turn around but the ministry of the church became more balanced, and in time healthier and more productive. God’s way really does work - if you don’t believe that just look at Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A generates more revenue per store than any other restaurant chain in business - and they do it in 6 days. They take a day of rest, and that rest actually helps them do more. They are able to focus on the people and stay true to their purpose which increases their productivity. They don’t wear themselves out working more - they allow themselves to be renewed. God’s command to rest does work because it is how God created the world. There is a time for work and a time for rest.
Physical renewal begins when we are willing to stop and wait on God. That might mean we need to stop working. It might mean we stop tuning in to the 24 news cycle and turn off the TV. It might mean we need to unplug from social media and give our hearts and minds a rest from constant complaining, comparison, and interactions with others. Renewal won’t start until we learn how to stop.
But then we need to be nourished and listen. We can be nourished spiritually by the world of God, or maybe we need to be nourished physically by eating the right things. I don't know about you, but the early stress of COVID caused me to do some stress eating. I wanted all those comfort foods which for me meant potato chips. I finally realized that what I was eating was not healthy and so I am now trying to nourish myself differently. Being renewed in strength is determined by what we put into our bodies, minds, and spirits.
Renewal also comes by listening to God. When we stop and silence our lives, we finally open ourselves up to being able to hear God’s voice. I love that story of Elijah waiting and listening for God. The noise of the wind, earthquake, and fire wasn’t God speaking. We often look for God in the big noises all around us (and there are so many) while God is trying to speak to us in sheer silence. It’s important to hear God’s voice because that is what gives us the direction we need once we are renewed.
We are all a little worn out by covid, exhausted by the elections, and tired of the uncertainty and anxiety we feel around us. The good news is that today we have the opportunity to be renewed. Being renewed in spirit comes when we humble ourselves, accept God’s grace and forgiveness, and live into the new life that is ours through Jesus. Being renewed in strength comes when we stop running and stop working so we can rest, be nourished, and hear God’s still small and life giving voice. So let us put on the new creation and be renewed in spirit and in strength as we grow in our relationship with God. Today, take time to wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart and life be renewed as you wait for the Lord.
Next Steps
Renew
In what ways do you feel exhausted and worn out?
● How has the election season worn down your spirit?
● How has covid-19 sapped your strength?
Can you remember a time when God renewed you? How can that memory help you trust God in this moment and guide your actions in the future?
Read Psalm 51
● How did David’s spiritual inconsistency lead to his emptiness and sin?
● What process helped David renew in spirit?
● How can confession, forgiveness, and repentance renew your spirit?
● Take time this week to reflect on what needs to be changed in your life so you are more in tune with the Spirit of God.
Read 1 Kings 19:1-18
What did Elijah do when he became drained and tired?
How did God renew his strength?
● How might God want to feed you spiritually?
● What spiritual habits can you embrace in this season?
● What changes in diet might help renew your strength?
Elijah didn’t hear the voice of God in the noise of the world but in the sheer silence. How can you silence the noise in your life so you can hear the voice of God? What might you need to turn off so you can tune in to God?
Are you taking a day of true Sabbath rest? Sabbath rest involves disconnecting from work and reconnecting to God. Who can help you carve out this time and then stick to it?
