I returned home from a CEW (Christian Experience Weekend) retreat yesterday evening and I’ve been reflecting on how retreat experiences are vital to our faith. The analogy that came to mind was that of a car needing to be filled with gas. Without refueling our vehicles, they will become empty and not be able to move forward. It is the same with our faith. Without taking time to be filled, we will be empty and not able to move forward.
Whether attending a retreat or serving on a retreat, we are filled by the Holy Spirit, being given the fire and love that gives us the ability to go back in the world and move forward, to live and share our faith. The world can so easily tear us down to the point we feel like we are running on empty. We need to take time to be filled, to get that spiritual boost that reignites us so that we can continue the work that God is asking of us.
Scripture tells us that God knows what we need before we ask (Matthew 6:8). And I’ve experienced this reality myself. God knows that we need faith communities to walk with and to encounter Him. He knows what we need and when. God makes Himself present in powerful and tangible ways when communities are gathered together for His sake. He knows that the journey can be hard and that we need experiences that fan the flames of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we are strengthened and ready to continue to be witnesses of Him in the world.
The power of the Holy Spirit is real and makes a profound difference in our lives and in our faith. He fills us up with his fire and love. And this means we cannot stay still, like a vehicle without fuel. He gives us what we need to move and to go where He needs us to go and do what He needs us to do. Are you full right now? If not, find a way to be filled and reignited. My prayer for each of us today is that we would let the Holy Spirit move us forward as we work to do what He asks, being a witness to the ways our lives have been changed.
Faith and The Good Stuff 