Power Surges
John D. Telgren


Well, the computers and the network is up and running again. A little over a week ago it appears that a power surge took out the network card on the church computer as well as the switch for the network itself. Of course I knew none of this, and neither did Jacqueline. All we knew is that it was not working. Timothy came to the building, and after some troubleshooting, figured out what the problem was and got us up and running again with some replacement equipment he had. It was nice to be able to start getting our emails again.

I suppose there are power surges in our own life that can burn us out as well. We all need “surge protectors” so to speak. Without them, we run the danger of overheating and burning out spiritually. In addition to surge protection, we also need down time. Our system need to go off line and our batteries need time to recharge on a regular basis.

So what does this translate to in practical terms? Some people call it the “Spiritual Disciplines.” This was something that was prevalent in the early church. They also appear in many classical devotional works. The basis for it comes from the Bible. There are basically two kids of Spiritual Disciplines. One is the discipline of letting go. This would include such things as fasting, solitude, frugality and sacrifice. Jesus gave some instructions for fasting in Matthew 6:16 not as a command, but with the obvious assumption that this is something believers can and will engage in.

Jesus practiced solitude from time to time when he would go off by himself to a lonely place and pray (Matt 14:23; Luke 5:16). Sacrifice and frugality is closely related to fasting. Paul speaks of having to do with little because he has learned the secret of being filled (Phil 4:12). The only way to truly learn this is through frugality and sacrifice. In fact, the Bible tells us that God will reward us for liberality and generosity in our giving (2 Cor 9:10).

There is another type of Spiritual Discipline which some call the disciplines of activity. That would include things such as prayer, Bible study, worship, service, and things of this nature. That prayer needs to be central to all of this is self-evident. The whole goal of all this spiritual self-discipline is to maintain a clear focus on God and his will in our lives.

Down time for these types of Spiritual Discipline helps us to refocus, recharge, and recommit to God’s vision in our lives. There are so many things that demand our time and energy day in and day out. Without the surge protection and battery recharge time, you could run the risk of a power surge demanding so much from you that you lose focus on your purpose in life, which is to serve God and do his will.

So don’t forget to set aside time to commune with God, and include your family in this time. They need it too.