Refreshing reminders for stressful situations

There will be times in each of our lives when we will need refreshing. No matter your profession or calling in life, you will at some point grow weary. As Christians, opposition is everywhere. Satan does not want us to succeed at even winning one soul for Christ, and he is big in the business of discouragement. If he can use frustration or exhaustion to weary us in our daily lives, we will surely have less energy (and desire) to go forth for the cause of Christ.

And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill’s side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust. And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves there.

2 Samuel 16:13-14

In this passage of scripture in 2 Samuel, we see that David and his army encountered a man on their journey named Shimei. Shimei was such an opposition to them they grew weary, and had to refresh themselves WHILE this man was still railing against them.

Sometimes, ladies, you will have to refresh yourself right in the midst of your battles! There may not always be friends around to help you get the encouragement you need, so this post will give you three ways you can build up your own spirit in the Lord.

Never underestimate the power of music!

Turn on some good, gospel music that reminds you about God’s goodness. Turn off any music or noisy distractions (ie: news, social media, other genres of music) that do nothing to build up your spirit. Music has the power to depress you or bring up bad memories. It also can encourage you and remind you of all Christ has done for us as his children. Make sure you are listening to the right kind of music!

And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

1 Samuel 16:23

Repent and spend time in the Lord’s presence!

If you are anything like me, you will find yourself in at least one of these two categories when you are feeling overwhelmed:

1. You allow the stress and frustration of life to build. Because of this, you grow angry or snappy with those around you, eventually making things worse.
2. You lose focus on what is really important, and your priorities get out of line because you are simply in survival mode and trying to stay “afloat”. Your quiet time with God gets left behind to catch up in other areas of life.

Regardless of which category you find yourself in when you are weary and downtrodden, there are elements of sin involved in both. Repent, ask God to forgive you where you have gotten off track, and dig into his word. Reset your priorities, and spend time with Him to refresh your soul!

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

Recall all his many blessings!

When times get tough, and we are in the midst of a battle, the best thing to do is praise the Lord for what he has done in our lives. We have all been blessed beyond measure, and have SO much to thank him for. When we count our blessings we refocus our thoughts on the good. Perhaps the trials and frustrations we are dealing with will become a little bit smaller and easier to handle. Even if the trial you are facing is a truly huge mountain you are having to climb, when you look at how God has worked in your past, and having already overcome so much, it gives you confidence in his ability to carry you through this storm.

And David was greatly distressed…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

1 Samuel 30:6

Here’s to a little less stress and a refreshing start to your week!