E-couragement 07.24

Fatigue, cowardliness and rest: The term “hit the wall” applies to running marathons. It also applies to running companies or leading people in companies. It also applies to spiritual growth. For the life of me I don’t understand why I have to hit the wall to finally fall back into the arms of a gracious God. You would think at some wise old age you would learn, but driven people tend to learn best by ramming into the wall…head on…at full speed. How dumb!

I am certain that abiding people don’t hit the wall at full speed and yet it is often the bounce off the wall that releases us to rest in Him, abide in the presence of God and fully realize the presence of the Presence. Are you near that point; where the trials and even the triumphs of living out our kingdom faith in the marketplace have brought you to a sense of fatigue and weariness? Soon to follow will be cowardice. It may sound harsh but allowing ourselves to reach the point of fatigue and weariness on the verge of cowardice is a sign of spiritual immaturity not spiritual maturity. The problem with most Kingdom leaders is we are often trying to do it on our own strength, to serve from our own passion; or to witness from our own successes; when God tends to make the most out of our surrender and weaknesses.

What are the warning signs? Obviously, if we learn to recognize them, we can avoid coming close to the wall. If we fail repeatedly to see them coming, the ongoing toll on us and on those we lead becomes a heavy, heavy burden. A rested and abiding Kingdom leader is far more effective than one driving himself to fatigue.

Here are some clear signs that we are approaching the wall:

• Just plain old fatigue near the end of the week and often near the end of the day. I don’t mean being tired; I mean fatigue when even falling asleep is hard because of it.
• Being grumpy, short and nit-picky with those closest to us and those we have no beef with. It can be the way they chew their food, asking too many questions or trying to get us to focus on something important to them but not even close to being on our radar screen. Don’t they know how much stress we have?
• Anxiety and fear of nothing in particular; just a sense of impending doom. The edge of depression starts with anxiety over nothing we can put our finger on. Being anxious over something tangible is one thing. Being anxious over nothing is the enemy’s best tool against achieving peace.
• A desire to run, to hide, to just get away from everybody and everything. It is more than the need for a rest; it is the need for escape.
• Spending more and more time on the work and less time with the Lord. How long has it been since you opened your bible or spent a good ten minutes in silent, meditative contemplation (prayer) with the Lord?

You can likely list a dozen more. I don’t know about you, but I want off the pathway to the wall. That rut soon becomes deeper and deeper and before long it is impossible to get out of. We just keep banging our heads. The great news, and you already know this, is that God wants us out as badly as we want out. It is not simply making a decision to wake up in the morning and prioritize bible time; it requires what Paul called, “praying ceaselessly”. I have often thought about that and how great it would be to pray ceaselessly. I guess Paul had a lot of free time that you and I don’t have. How foolish. Could anyone have been busier and more challenged for time than Paul? He ran a business, his own; so he could support himself and not be a burden. He built churches. He never travelled Business Class. He had more than a few enemies after his scalp and yet, he calls us to pray without ceasing.

Being conscious of the Lord while we go about our Kingdom work, taking any brief moment we can to touch base with Him; seeing Him in the faces of kids and sitting on park benches alone and cold or hungry; all of these are the disciplines that will lead us to “pray without ceasing”. Our conscious awareness of His presence is His invitation to walk with us, commune with us and ours to abide in Him. Just writing this makes me feel closer and better already. And to think, when I started this several days ago, I was headed for the wall.

“Father, thank you for your readily available presence. Forgive me when I wander; when I lose sight of You; when I let the cares of this world drag me down as if I could do anything about it without You. Change my patterns and bring me into the awareness of Your presence regardless of the “busyness”, the circumstances or the demands. Let me bounce for the last time into your abiding embrace. Thank You Lord. Amen”