(I hope you are finding time to unplug and unwind a bit this summer. I am finally taking some intentional time to relax and rejuvenate and I highly recommend it!)

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”                   Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

I sat down in the meeting, opened my tablet to take notes, and the dreaded message popped up: Charge battery 10% remaining. Then, later in the day, I grabbed my cell phone to check in with my daughter and there were no signs of life at all, just a blank screen – not even one blinking bar. Nothing. Could it be? Did I forget to charge the phone overnight … again?

You may remember that old battery icon, the Energizer bunny. You know, the one who keeps going, and going, and going … Why can’t everything last like that? An endless supply of energy. Truth be told, even the Energizer bunny must run out eventually, regardless of what the marketing department would have you believe. I have yet to find a battery that does not have to be replaced or recharged.

We even talk about recharging our own mythical, personal batteries. People talk about the need to renew and recharge which sounds good. But, if I can’t even be trusted to remember to charge my cell phone overnight, do you think I can actually take care of recharging myself? 

When it is left up to me, I only voluntarily take ‘down time’ when I am at the point of extreme illness or exhaustion. Otherwise, I am convinced the world cannot go on without me. So I keep pushing myself. 

I ignore all of the personal signs: 10% remaining (I snapped at my spouse for no apparent reason), 5% remaining (I withdrew from my friends, too busy to touch base with them), 2% remaining (I impose unrealistic expectations on those around me and get upset when they don’t live up to the expectation), 0% remaining, blank screen (nothing left except that empty feeling – call it regret or disappointment).

What good are we to others when we let this happen? What kind of life is this for me or you? Miserable. 

When we live half charged, running on empty, we begin to trudge through each day merely checking off the items on our “to do” lists, running from one obligation to the next only to miss the joy which surrounds us each day.

So where is this miracle battery? The one we can use to keep us going, and going, and going? 

Actually, it is no battery at all. It is Jesus Christ. He will renew us each day and keep us full to overflowing.

Include Him as you begin each day and you will have exactly what you need to keep going, all day – every day.

No batteries required!