I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. Jeremiah 31:25 (NIV)
As I was meditating on this Issue of Real Women, I felt the Spirit of the Lord impressing me that His people, particularly His daughters, need to be refreshed, and learn how to be a refreshment to others. As I began to study “refreshing” the following thoughts began to flow.

How many weary, worn out people have you encountered during this past day, month year? Does that include you? Weariness can enter our lives on many different levels. It can affect our relationship with God and other people including our children, co workers and church family. The word "kopiao” in Greek, means to grow weary, be beaten out. It is the word used to describe Jesus in John 4:6. “Jacob’s well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as he was with his journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.” He needed refreshing.

The verb “to refresh” involves the concept of cooling, wetting or airing as a room. None of us enjoy stale air! Air becomes stale when no fresh air or new air is allowed in. We need to allow the wind of the Spirit to blow upon our lives to purge that staleness. Begin by asking the Father to send His fresh wind into your life. He can do this right there wherever you are. Then expect it to happen!

When we carry too much upon ourselves: tension, stress, and worry our physical respiration changes—we don’t take in the same amount of air. When people are upset—we tell them to calm down, take a deep breath and try to relax. So take a fresh breath of the Holy Spirit!

There is a Hebrew word, “Ravach”. This word carries the connotation “to be wide, be spacious, breathe.” When our world or obligations seem to press in upon us, we need to step back, take a deep breath, and cast our care upon Him who cares for us. “And it came to pass when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand; so Saul was refreshed (ravach) and was well, and the evil departed from him.” 1 Samuel 16:23. When we begin to allow fleshly responses to come forth it is a good sign that we need to be refreshed in some way or another. The next time you find yourself frustrated, uptight etc, put on your favorite worship music and enter into the presence of the Lord. (Don’t wait until the Sunday morning service!)

Jesus was weary—tired, simply from being involved with His ministry. What did He do? First we see He sat down! Does that surprise you? It was about noon time. While he was resting—having sent his disciples off to get food a woman came to him. Now if you were weary as he was, what would have been your normal, natural response? Some of us would have pretended to be sleeping! Jesus could have kept himself “safe” and “resting” by simply observing the cultural norms of the time. Jews did not talk to Samaritans. Have you ever hidden from potential ministry opportunities because you were too tired?

Jesus was weary—too tired to finish the journey with his disciples, yet he wasn’t too weary for His Father’s will. Perhaps a lesson for us is to be found in that we as women, sometimes push ourselves past the time we should “sit down by the well”, so when the opportunity to do our Father’s will we won’t be too worn out to even be aware of it. The Father’s will for Jesus was to minister to that women—and eventually touch a whole region. If He had not had compassion, even in the midst of his weariness to reach out and meet her need, many others would not have had the opportunity to hear the Word. Weariness can inhibit our natural compassion—as well as our “supernatural compassion”. It is something we must war against. When the disciples got over their shock of him talking with “that woman”, they tried to encourage him to eat. His response, “my meat is to do the Father’s will”. As we seek to discover and do His will for our lives, it minimizes weariness that comes from the struggle of His will versus our will. Doing the Father’s will is energizing in itself. (Part 2 next issue)

Submitted by: Martha Rodman