Have you ever had your phone die on you at the worst possible time? I have, and it’s the most annoying thing because I find myself relying on it all the time during my day. What happens when the same thing happens to our own life? This idea of being burnt out or just stressed to the level of always wanting to pass out and just get some rest, often finds its way to me. I find myself being put in that position one to many times in my own life. What is the reasoning behind this? This was a question I was asking myself recently, and with my fall break on the horizon I found myself needing to recharge my life. I was dealing with a drain on my life, I was lacking time in the word, and I was cluttered by distractions that were all around me. Some good and some foolish, but I knew I needed a time to recharge my soul, a time to plug into the best energy source that’s out there.

The name of a place called Stone Mountain was in my head, not quite sure why, could have been my urge to get into the wild or because of the recent Childish Gambino mixtape, but I felt like Stone Mountain was the place I was to go. It’s a beautiful national park about an hour and a half or so from Greensboro. The plan was simple, leave early in the morning and head back home in the evening. I had one goal in mind, get away from the clutter and spend uninterrupted time with God.

I arrived in the morning and all that was around me was fog and rain, but I didn’t care, this was my time set aside and nothing would prevent me from it. I took the longest trail which allowed me to go up to the mountain, come back down and finish the loop at the Stone Mountain falls. It was beautiful. Even in the midst of the fog and the drizzling rain all around me, I knew God was trying to show me something. I felt very alone, yet I felt like God was there and that this was the best way for God speak. Now you may be thinking, “Josh must have had an incredible revelation!” Or, “I bet he met someone there and it later turned out to have been a messenger sent from heaven!” While these would have been cool (and slightly exaggerated), God doesn’t always work like that. Sometimes he is simple in what he is trying to show us, we just like to overcomplicate things. My purpose was to get rid of the distractions around me to get closer to God, and that’s exactly what I learned. Confused? Are you thinking, “It has to be more than that?” But that is one of the biggest keys I have learned in life! I was reading in 1 Corinthians a while back and verse 7:35 spoke to this idea, “I am saying this to you for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.” It was right in front of my face the whole time, I may not have even needed to take the day trip. That idea of getting rid of distractions was such a big thing for me. I often find myself in what free time I have outside of Church and school to watch endless hours on Netflix, or just avoid spending time in the word even though it is so vital to my life and walk. Another verse that I found on the mountain that day was James 1:21, “So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.” Boom, can’t get clearer than that can you?

So…what does that mean in my own life? You may be asking yourself the same question. My answer, prioritize. We all have responsibility, things we have for fun, people we want to spend time with, and it’s all important, but how do we approach our relationship with God. Is He first? None of the things I mentioned are wrong or evil, but when we put other people, things, jobs, whatever it may be in place of God, it becomes an idol. So in my life this may mean cutting out the hours of Netflix in the evenings, it may even mean saying no to extra activities even if it isn’t necessarily bad. God should be the number one in our lives, everything else can fall into place after that. In the same way your phone can’t help you when it’s dead, we can’t do anything without being plugged into the best source. Prioritize your life and relationships, put God first, and cut out the junk that clogs our thoughts. Learn to recharge your spirit. After all, you are royalty, Sons and Daughters of the king. Step into your potential, build strong relationships with those around you who are running after the same thing. Get your strength from the source, your heavenly Father, the King of all Kings. Learn to recharge your spirit.

Thanks for the read,
-Joshua