Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Philippians 3:10, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”

Background

When I was a kid, my dad used to come home from work on Fridays and not want to do much of anything. I remember him saying how tired he was from working all week. But since my dad was a salesman, and basically sat at a desk and did paperwork, or drove to people’s houses to give them estimates, I had a hard time believing that he was so exhausted. I couldn’t fathom how a person could be so tired at the end of the week from simply doing a sales job each day. I would have spent those same five days going to school, doing homework and studying for tests, and playing outside as much as possible, only to have plenty left in the tank at week’s end. How could my bigger and stronger dad be so tired from working some during the day and just being around the house each night? My, oh my, how the shoe is now on the other foot. And perhaps you are wearing it, too. Have you gotten to some Friday nights as if you are crawling your last inch of a marathon? Have you barely broke a sweat all week but feel like you’ve erected a skyscraper all by yourself? I’ll assume that many of us would say yes.

Application

And I’ll also assume that your spiritual lives have experienced this exhaustion at times, too. Just like my dad’s fatigue appeared to come out of nowhere on Fridays, the drain on our spiritual condition can sap us without any fanfare or apparent cause. This day turns into another week which turns into a month, and before we know it, there is an emptiness or a distance that wasn’t there before. I think it’s then that the fellowship of His sufferings and being conformed to His death makes its most powerful plea to us. While empty and aching, or just tepid and blasé, our spirit can be rejuvenated to know that His sufferings and death resulted in the ultimate power of His resurrection. There was victorious life awaiting on the other side of apparent defeat. But the getting there is the only way to get there, and if that’s what you’re in the middle of, then conform to His death. Go ahead and die, and then experience the power that is His resurrection.

Charge

As we seek Him today, let your week’s worth of fatigue bring you to the fountain of His refreshment. Bring to Him what you lack, and ask Jesus to fill you back up again.

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words