Remember this: the devil is the father of lies, he is a roaring lion prowling around seeking whom he may devour. Remember too that the devil comes only to steal, kill and destroy and that he is an accuser of people, always judging, always condemning and always deceiving.
The reason I mention this now is because many people have been deceived. Paul even states the the devil has blinded the minds of the unbelieving (2 Cor 4:4)
I believe that countless people in this world and even some who may call themselves Christian and sometimes attend church are deceived.
Many people believe that church is optional, when the Bible is clear that when we are born again we are born into the church. We don’t have a choice, to be a Christian is to belong to the church and to bear God-given responsibilities to serve the church, to bear one another’s burdens and to love one another.
Many people believe that somehow we can be Christians without pursuing holiness. Nothing could be farther from the truth. To be a Christ follower is to pursue love and holiness. It is to think on these things. It is to receive them from Christ and share them with others.
The list could go on. But here is the point: Be on your guard against the devil and false doctrine/teaching. Don’t be taken in by the god of this age. Don’t allow yourself to be led astray.
Instead if you desire to be a true Christian get in the Word of God, meditate on it, memorize it, obey it. If you desire to be a true Christian, be present and engaged at church: worship, learn, serve. If you desire to be a true Christian pursue love and holiness and reject any watering down of the faith that somehow accepts Christ without rejecting sin or somehow claims Christ but only half-heartedly.
Remember this: God loves you and His plan is to deliver you, save you and make you holy. He is looking throughout the earth to see who is fully committed to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9) Receive this word from Him and please believe and obey it today!
The doubts and fears that encroach on me as a pastor can at times be overwhelming:
Why have they stopped attending?
Why do they insist on acting that way?
We just can’t keep going the way things are…
Why are so few willing to help?
Why can’t I seem to say or do the right things to really make it work?
I’m sure that you like me have thought these things and perhaps 1000 other discouraged and negative thoughts as well.
I believe that we each want to truly make a difference and we want to serve in a place and in such a way that we can make the most impact possible.
But it seems like no matter how hard we work, or what specifically we do, that people still insist on putting God on the backburner and pursuing whatever else (anything else sometimes!) that catches their interest.
And although it seems that we are getting nowhere, we also know that we cannot quit because we have been called to this and we have this passion like a fire inside of us simply driving us to tell people the good news!
So what is the answer?
Books have been written on this, so what can I say briefly that will encourage, empower and equip?
Let me keep it simple:
Open the Bible, read a chapter (or more) and simply trust that God is speaking
Get on your knees and conversationally tell God all you are thankful for and all that you are concerned about
Pick up your phone and call 5 people asking them what God is teaching them and if you can pray for them (and then pray with them right there over the phone)
Tell people with excitement and joy all that God wants to do for them if they will simply trust and obey
Does this seem overly-simplistic?
Yes!
But if everything else were stripped away and this was all you did, would you make a difference?
YES!
So whatever else you are doing these days and no matter what you are thinking about or what weight you are under, please do the 4 things above and then make sure to notice and praise God for whatever He does along the way!
Thank you for making an eternal difference for countless people by your faithfulness and perseverance!
I have a confession to make: I don’t really know what I am doing.
Don’t get me wrong. I have been trained. I have completed A LOT of schooling and I regularly read books and articles. On top of that, I have over 20 years of ministry experience.
But the reality is that I don’t know exactly what it takes to reach a lost person or lead a particular Christian to a point of full surrender and consecration to the Lord and I don’t really know the perfect way to schedule my day or how to build a church.
I have a lot of ideas. And some of them work (and many don’t!). I have had the privilege of praying with people to be saved and to surrender to the Lord and I have seen groups/churches grow, but I have also seen my efforts fall short and I don’t always know why.
Furthermore, when things seem out of my control and beyond my ability, I am tempted to get angry or reactionary or even to doubt my call and second-guess my personal value.
But God reminds me that I don’t have to know what I am doing, and I don’t have to have it all in my control but I just have to trust Him and take it one day at a time.
I have to be careful to learn from others but not to compare myself to them.
I hope that you and I as God-called and God-ordained pastors, will trust God and pray for and minister to the person God puts in front of us. I hope and pray we will not lose our hope or joy and that we will trust God for the outcome.
Please know that whatever you are facing you don’t face it alone (God and His church and His under-shepherds are for you!) and lastly I want you to know that you are accomplishing more than you think you are simply by being willing and available.
Keep anticipating great things from our miracle-working God!
What can or should we do when we become overwhelmed?
It seems like life itself is overwhelming. Almost like the very nature of life is to weigh humans down. We ultimately know that is not the case because God created us and gave us life so that we could experience fullness and abundance from Him, but our feelings many times tell us there is no hope.
The circumstances of life multiply and like trying to swat at gnats swirling from every side it’s as if our efforts are futile and that there is no hope of getting away. We know we can’t stand there and do nothing, we have to try to walk or run away or swat as many gnats as we can away from our faces but are all our efforts in vain?
So is life bound to be a futile effort of swatting at gnats or a blowing into the wind?
Or can it be different, can it be something more?
Let’s take a quick moment and address 4 reasons why life is overwhelming:
There are just too many things going on simultaneously, too many voices clamoring for attention, too many choices and too many fires to put out
The pain is unbearable, the pain is relentless, the pain seems like a constant companion and there is no end in sight
Unpleasant, bitter, broken memories of the past keep echoing through our minds and hearts stealing any possibility that this moment can be fully experienced and enjoyed
The guilt and shame of our own mistakes, sin and failures seem like a cloud of doom which will not only envelope us but will surely suffocate the breath and life out of us, leaving us with nothing but a hollowed out shell with no life, no meaning and no fulfillment.
I know of course that there could be other reasons why you are overwhelmed, but these four seem prolific in my life and according to what I see and hear from those around me.
So how indeed can we keep from suffocating under the avalanche of too much, and/or the harsh and unyielding pain and/or the resounding noise of past trauma and/or the crushing load of guilt and shame?
Let me give you 4 suggestions:
If there are just too many things, voices, choices and crises: stop everything, get into a quiet place, turn off your phone and simply kneel or lay in prayer before the Lord. Let me clarify what I mean by prayer: in this situation I don’t mean filling the time and space with your words, concerns and complaints but instead simply waiting in complete silence before the Lord with the simply prayer, coordinated with your heartbeat and/or breathing: “Lord, help….Lord, help….Lord, help”. And don’t be a hurry to hear something or have a mental epiphany. Let there be silence, go slow and wait, God makes all things beautiful in His time.
If the pain is like unending torture in your body, mind or spirit: the most important thing is to actually find the root cause. Treating the symptoms or simply covering up the pain will not ultimately help. Find a doctor, a therapist, a counselor and/or a pastor to help with the pain in your body, heart, mind and/or spirit. Track your pain and what causes it to flare up. With prayer and wise counsel try and connect the dots to determine what triggers the pain and then carefully follow the treatment plan. It’s not enough to know what is causing the pain, do the difficult and disciplined work of changing patterns of behavior or circumstances, etc that are consistently trying to shipwreck your health.
If the past is like a broken record: pray and then try and practice a type of “temporary amnesia”. Consider how you might respond to this situation if you didn’t have any past experiences (positive or negative) with said situation. Try and look at the present moment as an adventure to be had and the possibility that you are getting ready to receive a moment full of delectable tastes, soothing sounds, majestic views and satisfying/uplifting experiences. If you had not past experience to compare it to, let us consider the possibility that this forthcoming moment could be a gift from God for our joy or comfort or growth.
If guilt and shame are smothering and suffocating you: remember that guilt can be a tool from God to lead you away from painful, sinful and unhealthy behaviors and that shame is most often a weapon utilized by Satan to try to accuse, condemn, steal, kill and destroy. The answer to both shame and guilt is found in the gospel and person of Jesus who will take our burdens, forgive our sin, cleanse us from unrighteousness and remove any decrees or accusations against us. Jesus disarms all of our enemies and sets us free; we can receive this freedom as we pray and confess, give thanks and praise to the One who loves us, died for us and saves us and as we walk in His holy ways instead of in the ways of darkness.
Remember in all these things to look at situations and people like Jesus does (with a heart and eyes full of love and desiring the Father’s glory and redemption for all creation). Also remember to believe whatever God says about us personally and accept His conviction, promises, warnings and commands. We must always remember that God is who He says He is, and He does what He says He will do and we are who God says we are and we can do what God says we can do.
There is no way that these few brief words that I have given you today will completely deliver you from the crushing weight and overwhelming oppression that you feel in life, but what I hope my words will do is point you to Jesus and His Words (the Bible!) and to the prayer room and to Godly professional helpers (seek out Christian doctors, therapists, counselors and holy pastors) so that in partnership with God’s people you can be lifted up, set free, made new and then you can live each moment in joy and peace and fulfillment in and with Jesus Christ, our friend and our Savior!
Pastors have a million things pressing them from every side. Just to list all the things that pastors do (or are unrealistically expected to do) is overwhelming.
And we have so many obligations and people expect so many different things from us (and we expect so much of ourselves) we often get tired, and fatigued under the heavy load and feel like we can’t go on. Sometimes in fact we think we have so many things to do we don’t even know where to start. Furthermore the devil likes to accuse us of laziness if we do take a break or if we slow down to get our bearings.
Pastor, I want to encourage you to take time to wait before the Lord in prayer, in silence, yes even in sleep. I have found a beautiful thing is to sleep in a posture of prayer (often only for a few minutes) and then to awaken with a fresh vigor and zeal to talk to the Lord or actively listen to Him through Scripture reading or meditation on Him and His Word.
Secondly I want to encourage you to take the time to wait on the Lord. We obviously should be waiting in the presence of the Lord in the prayer room in an intentional time of prayer, but we also need to adopt a lifestyle of waiting on God. God’s timing is perfect, God’s revelation is perfect, God’s plan is perfect. So let us determine to not get ahead of Him or lag behind but to simply stay in step with His Spirit. We must trust that the Lord will make His will known and cause us to be able to hear His voice and His instructions in His timing. If we don’t know what to do and we haven’t heard His voice clearly, let us simply wait and listen and keep our eyes on Jesus.
Please take time to enjoy and rest in the presence of the One who died and rose again because He wants to be in your presence for all eternity!
Listen to these amazing words from a great (though perhaps little known) hymn of the church:
Peace, peace, wonderful peace
Coming down from the Father above
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray
In fathomless billows of love
Wonderful peace, by W.D. Cornell
My heart yearns for this. My body and spirit ache for this.
And it seems that I expend much energy pursuing this.
And yet the surest way to receive and walk in this peace is simply to wait in the presence of the Lord. Wait in prayer. Wait in silence. Wait in worship & singing. Wait in the busyness of life and wait in the stillness of the prayer closet. Wherever you are, whatever is going on, no matter what else beckons, stand firm and insist that in the inner chamber of your heart you wait in God’s presence.
I pray that you receive and walk in the sweet peace of the Lord, knowing His forgiveness and love!
Do you want to be different and act/react differently?
Do you desire to have a different mindset and a different outlook and a different inner state of being?
Here is what we must do for things to be different:
We need to think on different things (not dwelling on the negative, the trouble, the losses/lack but instead like the Bible says we need to think about things that are excellent, lovely and praiseworthy)
We need to speak differently (don’t gossip or speak about earthly matters, instead speak about God and His goodness and His promises)
We need to act differently (not running around frazzled, stressed and overanxious but calmly, slowly and deliberately praying without ceasing, giving thanks in all circumstances and loving God and others through sacrificial action)
If we will think differently, speak differently and act differently, we will not only BE different but we will also feel different. And the circumstances around us will look different also. All of a sudden we will begin to see that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ, nothing will defeat us and nothing is impossible with God.
Please join me in practicing thinking, speaking and acting differently (with the help of the Holy Spirit and by prayer) and then watch and see how your life begins to change!
It is easy to paint an imaginary picture of pastoral ministry and/or the people we maybe one day could minister to.
But the reality is that God brings upon our path those He desires that we pastor.
This doesn’t let us off the hook for seeking people out, or for praying for more open doors or for being open to making new friendships or nurturing the ones that we have.
But instead it reminds us that we don’t have to force something, we don’t have to spend all our time daydreaming about some invisible maybe someday people.
Instead we can love those God brings before our minds eye or physically in front of us.
And then we can listen. Be inquisitive. Show compassion. Speak gently. Share the gospel. Pray with them.
And before you know it you will step back and realize that God has indeed allowed you the privilege and opportunity to serve and pastor another person in His name and for His glory.
I hope you will pray with me and be open to the people God connects you with (no matter who they are, how your paths cross or how different they are than us). I just don’t want to miss what God has for me or for them.
It often feels like all I have to do to really help my church to become healthy and vibrant and successful is to:
Call a few (or ten) more people per week
Visit more people every week
Text more people every week
Invite more people to church
Ask people better questions
Make sure to remember more details about people’s lives
Pray more
Read my Bible more
Study more
Make my sermons shorter (or sometimes longer)
Improve my teaching and explanation
Be funnier
Have more people over to my house
Take more people out to eat
Write more notes and letters of encouragement
Delegate better
Recruit more
Become a better cheerleader
Do less (or sometimes more)
Learn how to do altar calls
Spend more time discipling one-to-one
Offer more services, prayer meetings and Bible studies
Do more service projects
Get the van ministry going
Involve more people in Sunday morning worship
Get a few more volunteers
And since that is all I need to do to help the church grow spiritually and numerically, I really don’t know what my problem is and why I don’t just get to it!
Here’s the deal: I really don’t know what I should be doing except that I listen to the Lord day by day and moment by moment. In spite of all the learning and experience I have, all I really can do is pray, listen and walk by faith.
But then I guess that’s really all Jesus asks of any of us.
Isn’t it exciting and amazing to realize we are doing the Lord’s work?! I mean, what you and I are doing matters for eternity. What we are doing will bear fruit even after we are dead and gone from this earth.
The things we are saying, the lives we are living, the attitudes we are portraying…all of these, if done for the glory of God and if consecrated to Him, will reap a harvest, will lead others to faith and maturity in Christ, and will impact generations.
Many times it doesn’t feel like much is happening. Many times we may doubt our effectiveness. Let this spur us on to more prayer, more intentionality, more creativity and more boldness. But let us not despair: as we surrender to God, our efforts, infused with His power will bring about His purposes, in His timing.
Let us not worry so much about what things look like from worldly (ungodly) or earthly (temporal) perspectives and instead rest in the knowledge, power and leading of God even as we diligently serve those God places upon our paths.
Pastor Michael Johnson 