But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. — Romans 8:11

By Rick Renner

Recently I was thinking of the pressures and stresses that affect so many people’s lives.  People live their lives in their cars as they spend endless hours on expressways each day. They take their kids back and forth to school and to sports events; they go to church functions, to the grocery store, and back and forth to work. This constant movement puts a lot of stress on the mind and body. Yet there seems to be no option but to constantly try to keep up with the hectic pace!

Then when you finally get home in the evening, you can’t really rest. After all, the bills must be paid; the house must be maintained; the yard needs mowing; dishes need washing; dinner needs to be cooked; groceries have to be put away; the children need special attention and discipline. Walking through the door of the house at the end of the work day does not mean your work is finished. You have switched to a different kind of work.

Then there are still church responsibilities. You want to be faithful to your church and serve in as many areas as possible. Church is important and should be treated as such. But often you have expended so much energy on all the other important matters of life that when you finally get around to church, you feel exhausted and unmotivated. This makes you feel guilty and even condemned for not being more excited about serving the Lord in a practical way at church. But it isn’t really a question of desire; it’s a question of energy. Already your body and mind have almost been pushed to the brink!

Then there are family responsibilities. If you have an elderly person in your family, you know that this requires attention and energy too. Of course you want to do this!  This isn’t an obligation; it is a privilege to take care of older family members. Nevertheless, it still takes time and energy. And if you live in an area where you are close to cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, and grandparents, you must also work all these precious people into the schedule. Birthdays, anniversaries, funerals, weddings — all of these are part of your family responsibilities that require your time, energy, and finances.

How about your friendship responsibilities? Friendships require time and attention. As a good friend, you want to be there for your friend’s good times and bad times. You probably believe that you should be available when they need to talk about a problem. You want to spend time with your friends because you need and enjoy their fellowship. But all this requires time and energy as well.

Don’t forget your financial challenges and pressures. Life is expensive. Car insurance, life insurance, house payments, credit card payments, groceries, electricity and air-conditioning bills, expenses for the kids to play sports or go to summer camp, clothes for growing children, repairs on the car — and on and on it goes. Plus, you must be faithful in paying your tithes to your church, and you want to give special offerings to other ministries too.

One of Satan’s greatest weapons is discouragement, and he knows exactly when to use it. He waits until you are tired, weak, and susceptible to his lies. Then he hits you hard in your emotions, trying to tell you that you are accomplishing nothing valuable in life.

In those moments when I feel physically exhausted and yet I see no pause in my schedule, I turn to Romans 8:11 for encouragement. It says, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

I especially focus on the phrase that says, “…he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies….” Our mortal bodies simply have limitations, and there is nothing we can do about it. These limitations are one of the reasons we become physically tired. But in those moments when we need extra strength to keep going, this verse promises that the Holy Spirit will “quicken” our mortal bodies.

The word “quicken” is the Greek word zoopoieo, from the word zoe and poieo. The word zoe is the Greek word for life, and it often describes the life of God. The word poieo means to do. When these two words are compounded together, it means to make alive with life. It carries the idea to revitalize, to rejuvenate,or to refresh with new life!

This means that if you will yield to the Holy Spirit who dwells in you, He will supernaturally revitalize you. He will rejuvenate you. He will refresh you with a brand-new surge of supernatural life. He will fill you with so much resurrection power that you will be ready to get up and go again!

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Rick Renner is a prolific author and a highly respected Bible teacher and a leader in the international Christian community. He is the author of more than 30 books, including the bestsellers Dressed To Kill and Sparkling Gems From the Greek.

In 1992, Rick and his family moved to what is now the former Soviet Union. Two years later, he and his wife Denise founded the Riga Good News Church in Latvia before moving on to Moscow in 2000 to found the Moscow Good News Church. In 2007, the Renners also launched the Kyiv Good News Church in the capital of Ukraine. Today, Rick serves as Bishop for this group of churches.

In addition, Rick and Denise pioneered a Bible school, and a ministerial association that serves thousands of Russian-speaking pastors throughout the former USSR as well as parts of the Middle East.

Rick also founded Media Mir, the first Christian television network established in the former USSR. Its broadcast capabilities via terrestrial stations in Russia, Ukraine, Mongolia, Estonia, Poland, Latvia, Armenia, Georgia, and Moldova, and as well by satellite means millions of people are reached with these messages. It has since expanded into book publishing and managing social media accounts. Website: Renner.org