Memories of New Life

I woke up this morning to the sound of my wife's alarm clock, which is really just the K-LOVE playing one of the top Christian hits of the day. The song was "Everlasting God." At the end of the song a child reads a passage of scripture from Isaiah 40:

The Lord is the everlasting God
Creator of the ends of the earth
He will not grow tired or weary
And his understanding no one can fathom
He gives strength to the weary
And power to the powerless
Even youths grow tired and weary
And young men stumble and fall
But those who hope in the Lord
Will renew their strength
They will soar on wings like eagles
They will run and not grow weary
They will walk and not be faint

When I woke hearing this, in honestly blindsided me. I could probably attribute part of it to the fact that it was 5:45 in the morning, but more so it created a flood of memories. In came this flood of thoughts of when I had first come to know the awesome power of God in my life. And what followed that was this intense desire to be close to God, this new feeling. I was so wonderful, like one feels when they first start a new relationship. All you see is the good things in this person, but as the relationship wears on it becomes familiar. And familiarity is not a bad thing, it is what it is. The people closest to me are the ones who I have become familiar with.
But isn't it true that sometimes, most times, when we become familiar with something we lose our passion to work at it?

This is where I am having some difficulty right now. Monday, Jim (Lead Pastor/Boss/Friend) asked us the question: "Why do we do what we do?"

Well I could list off a whole bunch of "Sunday School" answers for why we do what we do, but none of them would really be meaningful to my own persona of why I do what I do. And to answer that question honestly would take more than just words. Because that is what life has always been for me. A litany of words that define who I am supposed to be, who I want to be, but not necessarily who I am.

So I woke with this intense desire to be in a place that I was 6 years ago at this time. My spiritual life was much different then. All I wanted to do was soak up every word of teaching about God from anyone willing to teach it to me. I could not wait to be a missionary to my own people and to show them this newness that I had found. Now I just feel like I am getting burnt out. There is so much output of energy for others, yet I am not taking enough time in my life to "wait on the Lord."

And the words that woke me this morning totally blew me out of the water and made me want to be new again. Even youths grow tired and weary, young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength...

Renew my strength O God, make me new again...