1That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life 2(and the life was revealed, and we have seen, and testify, and declare to you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was revealed to us); 3that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yes, and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4And we write these things to you, that our joy may be fulfilled.
5This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie and don’t tell the truth. 7But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say that we haven’t sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
A Time of Refreshment
Resting Before a Waterfall
This is Peter’s address to a group of unbelievers, but we, as believers, can pick up some truth in it as well. Life in today’s world can become hectic. We are busy all the time. Most of us are on our phones frequently throughout the day. We are inundated with the latest news from the four corners of the earth. If a plane crashes in a distant country, most of us know it within an hour. At times, we can be overwhelmed by information, and then, we have activity exhaustion. We are so scheduled up that we feel guilty or defeated if we don’t get everything done that we put on our Google calendar for the day. At least I’m guilty of that. Scheduled events can become exhausting and overwhelming. We can also drift far from the Lord through neglect of being still and sitting in His presence. Our souls grow hungry for a fresh encounter with Christ. We become spiritually anemic from the lack of prayer, failing to take in the Word, and neglecting to sit in His presence. When we are spiritually exhausted, we just desperately need to be refreshed.
When things get off track, this verse tells us that we need to repent. For believers, this is not repentance unto salvation, but it is still a form of repentance. What does that mean exactly? It means that we must rethink what we think, say, and do, and make some necessary adjustments. That might mean enacting a “media fast” in our lives. That could be achieved by setting aside specific days (or hours) when we turn the smartphone off. It might be by reserving a day in our week that we schedule nothing or very little. Perhaps we should consciously ask God to fill our calendar on a particular day, rather than filling it ourselves. It might mean to consciously declutter our lives of good but unnecessary activities and “stuff”.
It may simply mean confessing some sin or sins in our lives that need to be acknowledged. John said, **“9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we haven’t sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:9-10 WEB)**That’s what I like to call a “spiritual reboot”. Sometimes the best way to fix the computer is to turn it off, wait, and then turn it back on. 1 John 1:9 is how we spiritually reboot our lives. This is written to believers, not unbelievers, as some have said.
Sit still before God and ask Him to bring to your mind things that you’ve thought, said, or done that are contrary to His will for your life. Agree with Him that these are sins. That is what it means to confess your sins. Ask Him to set you on a different course. You will then experience the “times of refreshing in the presence of the Lord”. This restores the joy in your life. As the old hymn proclaims, “How marvelous, oh how wonderful is my Savior’s love for me!”