I can find the urgency of a task so great that I struggle to stop. I can be driven by the expectations of others, or even myself. This is not the pattern of our Lord. He stops for refreshment mid battle.
But he himself will be refreshed from brooks along the way. (Psalm 110:7 NLT)
The one who receives power from on high needs refreshment! This begs the question: Am I willing to stop at the Lord’s brook to be refreshed?
This admission of need seems incongruous with the beginning of the Psalm –
The Lord will extend your powerful kingdom from Jerusalem (Psalm 110:2 NLT)
The Father exercises power to extend His Kingdom. In modern parlance we see signs and wonders. Why would the God of power leave his servants in need of refreshment? Surely war has no let up, it requires concentrated effort. Why would the Lord break off from the urgent need?
When you go to war, your people will serve you willingly. (Psalm 110:3 NLT)
We live at a time when few serve willingly. Ministry leaders all over the western Church feel obliged to drive their people to action. Yet maybe it is in this stopping at the brooks along the way for refreshment that our people can endure the challenges of an age that sucks the life out of everyone.
Am I willing to acknowledge that stopping to be refreshed by the Lord is equally urgent as the ministry he has set before me?