Refresh & Renewal

Psalm 51:10
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me

Psalm 119:34
Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart.
35 Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.
37 Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word
40 I long to obey your commandments! Renew my life with your goodness.

Ephesians 4:22
Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life,
23 a life renewed from the inside
24 and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

Today I was reminded that we are all in need of refreshment and renewal.  No matter where we are in our journey, sometimes we must realise it's time to stop and reflect, take some time to be refreshed and ask God to renew our body, mind, soul, spirit - and everything else that make us who we are today.
 
Refresh my heart, Lord,
Renew my love,
Pour Your Spirit into my soul,
Refresh my heart.
You set me apart, Lord,
To make me new,
By Your Spirit,
Lift me up, Lord,
Refresh my heart.

And I will worship You, Lord,
With all of my heart,
And I will follow You, Lord,
Refresh my heart.

Refresh my heart, Lord,
Renew my love,
Pour Your Spirit into my soul,
Refresh my heart.
You set me apart, Lord,
To make me new,
By Your Spirit,
Lift me up, oh Lord,
Refresh my heart.

And I will worship you, Lord,
With all of my heart,
And I will follow You, Lord,
Refresh my heart.

Again, it's about asking God how we can be better servants for him - to do His will in this place, and to have some positive impact on others.

We need to understand that we cannot do this on our own, we need Gods help, strength and influence in our (daily) lives to enable us to continue on the road that leads us (and others) to Him.

I think that we often forget to rely on Him and only turn to Him when we are on the downward "slide" or we've hit rock-bottom.  It's easy to forget, and try to do things on our own terms and in our own time.  Our busy schedules don't often allow us to spend time in reflection, refreshment and renewal (isn't that what Sunday's are for ??  Some would say so!), but I would encourage you each to make time in our "busy-ness" to ask God to refresh our hearts, so that we can be used for Him in our "everyday" circumstances.

SACB95 (Tune - Troyte)
Renew my will from day to day;
Blend it with thine and take away
All that now makes it hard to say;
Thy will be done.