The apostle Paul wrote, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NIV). God wants us to come to Him again and again, asking Him to fill and empower us afresh. The fact is, we have a never-ending need, and He has an inexhaustible supply. The Christians featured in the book of Acts certainly understood the importance of being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Peter led thousands of people to Christ at Pentecost after he was filled by the Holy Spirit. Stephen, the first known Christian martyr, preached one of the most powerful sermons ever recorded because he was filled with the Spirit’s power. The apostle Paul vividly describes being disheartened, discouraged, and lonely before God refueled and restored him. Whenever you start to feel spiritually run-down, ask the Lord to refill you with the power of His Spirit. And then watch what He does. How do you know when you need a spiritual refill?

2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (NLT). This isn’t a BYOS—Bring Your Own Strength—calling. You don’t need to be naturally strong to turn your world upside down. Or naturally gifted. Or naturally charismatic. You just need to commit yourself to God and His purposes. The Lord will do the rest. If you will commit to the Lord, there’s no telling what kind of difference you can make in the world. There’s no telling how far the ripples of your ministry will extend—throughout the world and throughout the years. It will be exciting in the days ahead to see what God will do through and with you. But He wants you to be available to Him. One of these days, your life will come to an end. What will you say about it? What will others say about it? How great it would be to say, like the world-up-ender Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful” (2 Timothy 4:7 NLT). What would a total commitment to God look like in your life?

The Lord’s coming draws closer every day. Paul wrote, “The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living” (Romans 13:12 NLT). It’s time for us to wake up. One thing that always amazes me when I get up really early in the morning is that it’s pitch-dark outside. Sometimes I have to double-check the clock. I think to myself, “It can’t be 5:30; it’s got to be 1:30. It’s so dark.” But sure enough, every morning the sun slowly begins to rise. What was only darkness a few moments earlier begins to lighten up. And the next thing you know, the sun is out and everything’s lit up. This is how our world is right now. It’s dark. And it’s been dark for a long time. We start to think that it will always be this way. But it won’t. The darkness will not last forever. Christ is going to come back again. Be ready for His return.   What impact does the realization that Christ will return have on your daily actions and decisions?