“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3)
This has been a year of learning about and enjoying peace. The world around is chaos. The television is chaos. Traffic is chaos. Our thoughts are chaos. This has been a year of laying down those things that foster and feed chaos. Funny thing, though. When we lay something down we feel the need to pick something else up.
Years ago I knew a guy who was struggling with smoking. He really, really wanted to quit, but he had the habit BAD. After considerable prayer begging God to help him, he was able to lay down the pack of smokes. Ask anyone who has ever quit and you’ll find out your personality changes – or can change afterwards. And so it was with our friend. He quit smoking but he started cussing and showing aggression. It seemed the least little thing would set him off! So he started drinking. Not a lot, but enough to take the edge off. He had merely exchanged one unhealthy habit for another. There really wasn’t a complete deliverance in his life, just a swap.
In an effort to find peace within he turned to substances. We see it all the time. They start out slowly but ramp up rather quickly. What was once just a drink a night has become a bottle a night. When a single joint was once enough, now it takes a few (or many) – often combined with other things. Our flesh is one of more – we quickly develop a resistance to a thing and find we need more to get the same results. The sad part is they never really achieve the same high they did at first.
This works with other things, too. People start watching a particular show on television and find it funny or entertaining somehow. They progress to where they have to watch it every week. Pretty soon the series ends and they start looking for it on DVD or an a media platform. I have seen people get frantic waiting for the next season to come out. Being with friends is another. Nothing wrong with fellowship, but when it gets to the point you exclude all others and start ditching your responsibilities to be with your buddies – it has become a problem. There are as many vices, as many desires, as there are humans. We each pursue something to numb our pain or distract ourselves from the chaotic world in which we live.
Christian service can be just as addictive. We can find ourselves so wrapped up in our position (greeter, usher, elder, etc) that we forget the One we are attempting to serve. We can find ourselves doing so many “good” things that we abandon the best things. We lose our focus, we find our identity and value in those things. This, too, is not good. More and more we hear people say they are tired. They run themselves ragged in an attempt to somehow find their place, their calling. Yet with all the running, they have merely exchanged their worldly activites with “Christian” activities.
Medical scientists have confirmed that all this activity, all this busy-ness, puts an undue strain on our physical bodies. Stories abound of pastors having heart attacks, of ministers having mental breakdowns, of Christians in general suffering from burnout. All the tension, all the pressure, all the stress builds up in our bodies (which we don’t properly take care of for the most part) and develops into actual diagnosed physical ailments – heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, immuno deficiencies, and more. Pastors often refer to the 80/20 principle – referring to the fact that 80 percent of those in church do little-to-nothing (including tithing or serving the body), while the 20 percent do it all. The Body of Christ suffers from this overwhelming work load on the 20. How sad. If only we could find a way to double the percentages!
Tonight (or today – whenever you are reading this) maybe this describes how you feel. You are constantly fatigued, you are carrying around extra weight, you have acid reflux, you take all kinds of medicine to treat your symptoms. If that is you, I encourage you to begin shedding some of the excess load you are carrying. It’s time to begin the process of slowing down a bit. Allow others the opportunity to serve in some of those positions and duties. I know, I know, they won’t do it as well as you do it. That’s the beauty! You can be their mentor and teach them, guide them, advise them (when asked), and let them have some of the blessings of spiritual growth. There are many parts in the Body. Each one serves a purpose. Although your pinky finger is about the same size (I am told) as your apendix, they are not interchangeable. Each part is fitly placed within the Body to serve a very specific function. Yet when each contributes its part, the Body is healthy and strong. The whole Body cannot be the foot, or the ear, or the eye, or the stomach. The same is true of your local Church. Everybody cannot be the usher. Somebody may enjoy vacuuming the carpets and cleaning the bathrooms. There are those who enjoy working in the nursery, while others are endowed with grace to handle the teenagers. Some sick people even enjoy keeping the books for the Church.
Where do you find peace? In what service that you render do you find joy? I encourage you to step back, to take a deeper look, to do some soul searching. Why do you feel you have to do everything? Is it to avoid doing something totally different that God may be calling you to do? Is it because it gives you a feeling of importance? Is it because maybe it ingratiates everybody to you – builds up favors you can call in from time to time? Really dig into the why because God doesn’t put together a two-person Body – just you and the pastor.
Our verse today (I’ll get back to that now) tells us that God will keep us in perfect peace as long as we are grounded upon Him, as long as we rest in Him, as long as we build our lives around Him, as long as He gives us our identity, as long as He gives us His strength, as long as He is the very reason we wake up in the morning and begin our day. Anything beyond that (including those things mentioned earlier and others) brings stress and chaos into our lives. God wants to keep you in perfect peace, my friend. He wants you to enjoy serving Him, He wants to shower you with His Presence, with His power, with His Holy Spirit. Find your foundation. Dig down and establish your roots again. Use your gifts for His glory and honor. And allow others the same privilege. Be at peace.
Be blessed.
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