When we think about vacation, for the most part, folks usually imagine good people around them such as family and friends, a warm place like Hawaii or a tropical island, with beautiful beaches, good food, alcohol, dancing, partying and so on. The problem is that they usually go back to work more exhausted than when their vacation started. This desperate need for vacation and the sense of exhaustion is indicative that something is wrong in our day-to-day life. 

Beloved, life is found in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. When we disconnect from that Source we are in trouble. That is why Jesus tells us, ““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NIV) Look at how Moses was trying to teach this principle to the Children of Israel. In Deuteronomy 8:3 Moses states,

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (NIV)

Our very lives are not dependent only on food, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Every word, meaning, what is written and what He is speaking, word of knowledge, prophetic word, word of wisdom, etc. Jesus back this teaching in Matthew 4:4 by making a direct quote of Deut. 8:3 “…It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (NIV) Jesus tells us, “…I am the way and the truth and the life…” John 14:6 (NIV) Jesus is the source of life.

In First Corinthians 12:4-6 the Apostle Paul tells us regarding the Holy Ghost, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” (NIV) The word working is the Greek Word enérgēma; meaning “To effect; working. Tt the result or effect of enérgeia (1753), energy. In the NT, used only in 1 Cor. 12:6, 10 of the results of the energy of God in the believer. Though enérgēma is translated “operations,” it is actually the results energized by God’s grace.”^[1] Beloved, without the Holy Ghost we will run out of energy. To be out of energy and depressed is a good indicative that our relationship with God may not be where is supposed to be.

Going back to the topic of vacation; it is very easy, during this time, to disconnect from God, especially when we are surrounded by folks who live their lives without God. We can fall right into this trap and find ourselves drained within days. See, as stated before, God’s Word is also a source of life and is found in our relationship with God, in our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ, in our fellowship with the Holy Ghost (2 Corinthians 13:14), and in the study of the Logos Word. In addition to this, the Word is found in our fellowship with our brothers and sisters, in our conversations, in our daily walk, etc. Praying and studying on our own is not enough. In 2 Corinthians 13:1 Paul tells us, “This will be my third visit to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” The word Matter here is the Greek word rhḗmameaning “To speak. That which is spoken, a statement, word. Particularly a word as uttered by a living voice.”^[2] As you can see, we as believers are called to carry conversations about the Lord, challenge each other and engage in healthy debate. As a matter fact, God does not only listen to our prayers, but He also pays attention to our conversations. Malachi 3:16 tells us, 

Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. (NIV)

Let’s face it, we will spend more time talking than praying; so, what we talk about is crucial in the preservation of our peace, our joy, our energy, and our life. We must stay connected with the source. Paul also tells us, “What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.” I Corinthians 14:26 (NIV) Can you see the dynamics? 

You may say, “well Angel how much am I going to speak about God before is repetitive or boring?” Well, we all have our favorite conversations; they flow organically. Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:34 that what we speak is directly connected with what is in our hearts. Folks have no problem gossiping, talking about their favorite show, movies, girlfriends, boyfriends, talking about politics, their families, their jobs, sports, etc. 

So, have you figure God out? Is there is nothing else to say about him? What is it that He is telling you? Do you have any questions? Bottom-line is that folks spend a lot of time talking a whole bunch of filth. The older I get the less tolerance I have to engage in such conversations; it simply sucks the energy out of me.

Beloved, the reality is that we serve a God that loves us more than anybody on this world. God is personal and desires a personal relationship with us; not a Sunday service, not a weekly Bible Study, not limited to a particular building, but a day to day, organic relationship with us. Again, Moses attempted to teach this to the children of Israel and… us when he states,  

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:5-9 (English Standard Version)

This is how a life with God at the center looks like; but we are surrounded by folks who are used to living their lives without God. As a matter of fact, they don’t want God in their lives… period! They don’t want to talk about Him, they don’t want to hear about his teachings or whatever He has to say. Some have a form of godliness, but they just get a hold of comfortable doctrines such as “God is love”, “God accept me the way I am”, “God understands me”, “my relationship with God is personal”, “Don’t judge” and, so on. Half trues that many are dying with and going straight to hell as they dictate who is God and embrace a doctrine where there is never correction and where there is never a debate. This is not life, this is death.

^[1] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

^[2] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).