God's Refreshing!

Bible Study: "Refresh"

I want to discuss the refreshing of God. When we rebuild and align our lives with God's will, we will truly begin to experience and understand what it means to be refreshed. When a refresh happens, you are revived and restored. You are strengthen and renewed. During the weary seasons when we are doing our best to pour from an empty cup, and realize that's not possible, we get to that point of desperation when we start to finally see things we need to surrender and let go of in order to be refreshed. God's already been merciful giving us times of being refreshed in our Sunday services over the past four weeks. These notes were already written out about releasing our strongholds and burdens to God so we can be refreshed and that's exactly what was spoken on at church, that He needs us to come to Him and lay down our burdens and strongholds. I think of how God lined this up back in January, during the pre-revival prayer week and gave me the topics for each of this particular set of three months of study. He already seen the weariness and struggles and circumstances that laid ahead for us, yet in His infinite mercy He desires for us to experience His refreshing during this season. 

How can we receive a REFRESH (to restore, strengthen and revive)? 

1. Jesus Gives True Rest.

Matthew 11:28–29

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you… and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

• Jesus invites the weary to come to Him for true rest and refreshing.

Insert: The enemy is very sly and tricky. He's sly as a fox and he can work to get us in the mindset quickly of wanting to use stay bound up, weary, beat down, and holding on tightly to our strongholds and being crushed under the weight of our burdens. But that's not God's desire for our life. Something that was revealed to me probably a decade ago. If you leave church with a Jesus fix, without allowing Jesus to truly fix you then you're just spinning your wheels. It's amazing to go to church and shout and praise and receive from the Lord and lay things down, but “it has happened to me more than once”, as soon as we walk out of those church doors here comes the enemy with his distorted lies and views and we are right back to where we started. It's so easy to pick it up but so hard to truly lay it all down.

He is still the God who heals thee. He reminded me how His word says that He has heard your prayers, seen your tears, and He will heal you. I become so burdened, and my heart was heavy for a bit studying this, because I remember those years when I would leave church with just “my Jesus fix”... "I'd cry and shout, but I was leaving unchanged and not fully delivered". I'm so thankful I decided to let Jesus fix me one day, but my heart remains burdened for those who still don't want to truly change. When I think about being refreshed I think about a "well", as in a water well. Years ago, I received this vision and wrote it down and blogged it and once again it came back to rememberance as I was studying and preparing this. God gave me a vision of people who are seeking deliverance but have yet to receive it. People seeking what they need from God, yet in the same rut they have been in for years. People seeking to be filled with the Holy Ghost and to truly be set free. I saw the clearest vision of a "stopped up" well, with a stopper, a stopper like you would see in a sink or bathtub. When people are on the verge of a breakthrough and refreshment is at hand, that stopper begins being pushed up in order to be removed so God's blessings and victory, deliverance and healing can freely flow. But right at the point of the stopper being removed, here comes satan with his distortion, lies, guilt, condemnation, temptations, and anything else he can use to push the stopper back down and you're back to the same old stopped up well. I went through that cycle for years, but praise God my well ain't stopped up anymore. It overflows (even when times get hard and trials come and that weariness comes and something completely catches you off guard, I have to shift my focus back to God so my well doesn't get stopped back up)... I desire to stay overflowing and refreshed with God's love, joy, peace, victory, healing, deliverance, and anointing. See, satan and his evil forces will attempt to stop up the well that sustains our spiritual life and health. Refuse to let the enemy keep your well stopped up; let that stopper be fully removed in Jesus' name! That's my prayer!

2. God Restores the Soul. 

Psalms 23:3

“He restores my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”

• God restores the inner person when life drains us and that's when we can experience His refreshing.

3. God Refreshes the Weary

Jeremiah 31:25

“For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”

• God promises to refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.

Insert: I begin to sense that there is a shifting in the spiritual atmosphere taking place. I'm in much prayer and anticipation of what's to come for God's people who are hungry and ready to receive from Him. Again, in my spirit, I'm praying and spiritually digging those ditches so healing waters can freely flow again. I have been doing this for the last couple of weeks, and I'm seeing those waters began to flow now. Glory to God! And being reminded again, to remind others, that when those waters begin to flow out from the ditches on into the rivers and seas we, spiritually speaking, don't need to worry about NOT being able to get out in those deep waters and swim. Yes, within our human mindframe, we may think we can't swim in deep waters and will drown... oh, but from a spiritual standpoint those deep flowing waters are where the restoration and new life takes place. Don't you know God will keep you from going under and protect you from drowning if you'll only get your focus back on Him, and keep it there?! The waters and rivers of revival are flowing. Revival is not just a couple of evangelistic meetings and growth in the church. It is when God’s people fall back in love with Jesus and we start to pray, see the power of God move and work to change lives, and praise God for it all! It's when children of God are about to burst with excitement each week, because they can't wait for church services days. They are anticipating instead of dreading. Revival is no longer going through the motions, but giving God your all in prayer and worship. It's a daily lifestyle of desiring to live more Christlike. Get in the waters because they're flowing freely in this hour! 2 Kings, chapter 3 highlights God’s grace in providing water and victory to a coalition of three kings (Israel, Judah, Edom) fighting against Moab, despite their lack of initial faith. Prompted by Elisha, the alliance digs trenches in a dry valley, which God miraculously fills without wind or rain. The chapter emphasizes seeking God's guidance before crises, the power of prophetic authority, and that God's grace sometimes supports unworthy leaders for the sake of His covenant.

"Don't grow weary in well doing": This verse helps us realize that no matter how bad things get, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. God is waiting for us. He intends to stay close and lift us up when we need it. Knowing we are not alone in our times of sorrow can be a comfort that’s hard to describe. What helps me to accept God’s joy is to remember the love it took for Jesus to do what He did for me on the cross. We can get lost in our grief and sorrow. God doesn’t want us to stay there. In our sorrow, finding joy in the Lord proves that joy is not the same as happiness. Joy is deeper and helps restore our happiness.

4. Refreshing Others

Proverbs 11:25

“The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”

• When we encourage and help others, God refreshes us as well.

5. God Gives Living Water

John 4:14

“But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.”

• Jesus is the source of our spiritual refreshment.

6. God Revives the Spirit of the Humble.

Isaiah 57:15“ I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

• God brings revival and refreshing to humble hearts.

Revival simply means to be refreshed, restored, returned to original condition. It’s what a Christian needs when they’re feeling spiritually dead. It can happen within an individual life or a local church, but it is simply getting back to the Christian life as it was meant to be lived.

7. A Refreshing Word

Proverbs 15:23 “A word spoken in due season, how good is it!”

• Encouraging words can bring refreshment and hope.

Summary

The Bible teaches that refreshing comes from:

Waiting on God

Coming to Jesus

Being in God's presence

Encouraging others

Staying Focused on God

Dwelling with God 

Keeping a Humble Spirit 

Daily Spiritual Renewal

Life can leave us feeling drained—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Responsibilities, worries, and the fast pace of life often take more out of us than we realize. But God never intended for us to live in a constant state of exhaustion. He offers something beautiful and powerful: refreshing. When we come to God and wait on Him, He renews and refreshes our strength. Waiting on the Lord doesn’t mean doing nothing—it means trusting Him, spending time in His presence, praying, and allowing Him to restore what life has worn down. Just as rain refreshes dry ground, God’s presence refreshes a weary soul. Sometimes we try to refresh ourselves through rest, entertainment, or distractions. While those things can help for a moment, the deepest from if refreshment comes from God alone. When we open His Word, lift our hearts in prayer, and surrender our burdens, He pours peace and strength back into us. God’s refreshing may come as peace in the middle of stress, hope in the middle of disappointment, or renewed courage to keep going. What once felt heavy begins to feel lighter because His strength carries us.

No matter how tired you feel today, remember this: God specializes in refreshing us. He restores hearts, renews minds, and refreshes souls that come to Him.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for being the source of my strength and renewal. When I feel tired and overwhelmed, remind me to come to You. Refresh my heart, restore my spirit, and renew my strength today. Help me walk in Your peace and trust in Your sustaining power. Amen.