THE TIMES OF REFRESHING

"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord" NKJV(Acts 3:19)

Isaiah spoke to a people who were offered refreshment from God, and yet did not receive it. "To whom He said, ‘This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,' And, ‘This is the refreshing'; Yet they would not hear" (Isa 28:12). But God did not abandon His desire to bring refreshment. Through Christ, it is still offered to men, as confirmed in our text. The refreshment is not a one time thing, or a specific experience that occurs at a precise time. It is "TIMES of refreshing"–a season, or extended period, in which refreshment is realized. It comes when our sins are "blotted out"–something that happens to every person who repents and is converted, or is born again.
There are stimulating aspects to refreshing that are worthy of noting. First, the word contains the idea of rest, or deliverance from oppression and weariness. Second, it includes the thought of revival, renewal, and recovery. It is like mounting up with the wings of an eagle, rising higher and higher, and getting stronger and stronger. Jesus spoke of this when He said, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt 11:28). That "rest" was the "times of refreshing," when the effects of sin and sorrow are lifted from the soul, and joy and rejoicing are given to us from above.
When we walk by faith and live in the Spirit, we experience the "times of refreshing." Even though we experience being "troubled," "perplexed," "persecuted," and "cast down," we recover, moving ahead toward the prize that awaits us (2 Cor 4:8-9). This is the "renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Tit 3:5), a continual refurbishing of the soul. Honest souls do not deny hard times come upon them. They admit that sometimes we are "troubled on every side," and are even brought to the point where "we despaired even of life" (2 Cor 1:8). But believers do not stay there. They are "refreshed" from heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit. Their troubles subside, the strength returns, and the hope glows again. They are living in "the times of refreshing." Those times began when they repented and were converted, but they did not end then. The "times" will endure as long as the trials. The "refreshing" remains available throughout the stresses and tests of life. The refreshment always come "from the presence of the Lord." It is personal, tailored for your person and circumstance–and it is truly "refreshing."