"Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24
Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." -Psalms 139:23-24
Sometimes you just have to take a step back and breathe. These past few months, I have been the busiest I've ever been in my life. Between ministry, work, family and friends I've been attempting to stretch my 5'5 self in about 1,000 different directions...and let's just say, it hasn't been working. At first it was all good, but after attempting over and over to be in three different places at one time, I started to feel burnt out. In my efforts to please everyone, I learned that you can't always say, "yes." I mean really, what good is it be present but not be effective? Even worse, I was finding myself drained in my ministry work. I was learning the hard way that you can't pour out the Word to others if you're not taking the time to have the Word poured into you. Eventually my fuel started to run out and I began to run strictly on fumes.....I became physically, emotionally and spiritually drained.
"...for me, obligation is my commitment to people, obedience is my commitment to God."
As Christians, when we begin to feel "burnt out" it starts to form a blurred line between doing things out of obedience and doing things out of obligation. What's the difference you ask? Your heart. I associate the word, "obedience" with love. The Bible tells us in, John 14:15, "if you love me, obey My commandments." See although both words still equal commitment, for me, obligation is my commitment to people, obedience is my commitment to God. I was finding myself more committed to my friends and family than I was to the One I deemed as Lord over my life.
I take pride in being a great friend, but it was never God's intent to spend so much time serving others and leave little to no time to commune with Him. In essence, I was giving God what was left of me after I had already given my best to other people. This is also where we can become more susceptible to sin. Often times when we feel drained and burnt out we begin to see church and all other ministry enthused activities as a "job" and we start to serve others grudgingly as if it's a burden. Right where satan wants us, in a place where we begin to lose our desire to serve and please God. Wow. What first started as a delight is now becoming a duty and we come to a point where we would just rather be spiritual couch potatoes because it's too draining to actively serve in ministry. Again, what good is it to be actively involved in ministry and not effective?
"In essence, I was giving God what was left of me after I had already given my best to other people."
I take pride in being a great friend, but it was never God's intent to spend so much time serving others and leave little to no time to commune with Him. In essence, I was giving God what was left of me after I had already given my best to other people. This is also where we can become more susceptible to sin. Often times when we feel drained and burnt out we begin to see church and all other ministry enthused activities as a "job" and we start to serve others grudgingly as if it's a burden. Right where satan wants us, in a place where we begin to lose our desire to serve and please God. Wow. What first started as a delight is now becoming a duty and we come to a point where we would just rather be spiritual couch potatoes because it's too draining to actively serve in ministry. Again, what good is it to be actively involved in ministry and not effective?
"Are we more concerned about what people think than what God thinks?"
Sometimes we have to ask God to search our hearts. Take a deep dive into even the most hidden places of our lives and test our true intentions. Are we confusing pleasing people with pleasing God? Are we more concerned about what people think than what God thinks? Now, don't get me wrong, the Bible clearly says that we are to love one another, however in our efforts to love and to be loved by others, we can unknowingly be placing them on the same or higher pedestal as Christ in our hearts.
To all my friends and family, bear with me if I seem distant for a little while. I'm using this time to not make any commitments to people, but rather allow God to show me the areas on my heart that need to be more committed to Him. Every now and then we need a heart check so we can put back in perspective that we're ultimately only called to serve people out of our service unto God.
Remember this simple formula: God > Everyone else.
-Leah*
Bible Study
*For more information on this topic, check out the following scriptures:
Ephesians 6:7
Psalm 139
John 14:15
Psalm 100:2
To all my friends and family, bear with me if I seem distant for a little while. I'm using this time to not make any commitments to people, but rather allow God to show me the areas on my heart that need to be more committed to Him. Every now and then we need a heart check so we can put back in perspective that we're ultimately only called to serve people out of our service unto God.
Remember this simple formula: God > Everyone else.
-Leah*
Bible Study
*For more information on this topic, check out the following scriptures:
Ephesians 6:7
Psalm 139
John 14:15
Psalm 100:2
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