My Epic Journey

Here is a pic of my favorite books. 

These books I often return to multiple times a year for insight and reflection.  They have helped develop my ministry, my profession and my person.

I receive wisdom and guidance from two places in this world:  regular Bible reading/study and the fortune cookie I get every month when we eat at the Asian Garden Buffet.  Guess what?  Tonight we ate the Asian Garden Buffet.  I always pray for two things when I go into the AGB, 1) the sugar donut thingies are fresh and numerous, and 2) that I get a good fortune cookie . . . wait, I also pray that meat really is chicken.

Tonight, after I anxiously went through my "fortune-cookie-breaking-and-eating" routine, I read this on my fortune cookie:

Your lucky numbers are 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, & 42 (anyone know the significance of those numbers?)–jk, those weren’t really my numbers.

Then I turned over the paper and my fortune was:

Be moderate where pleasure is concerned, avoid fatigue.

I found this message very pertinent to my life right now.  Let me explain.  I love everything I am doing now.  Family, ministry, school, etc, but I am finding that I am also constantly overwhelmed and tired about all of these things at the same time. 

In family life, things are becoming crazy with baseball season for the boys, Anna’s mom is moving to Columbus, keeping up with Emma.  I love it but it is a lot.

In ministry, we are getting ready for the summer months, re-evaluating how student ministry is done at Grace Point, re-organizing leadership, kicking off monthly middle school outreach events, etc.–not to mention what is going on in the bigger picture of the church.  I am passionate about ministry–but it is hectic.

In school, I am being challenged, learning how to be a better counselor, reading interesting books, research studies, and journal articles.  I has been good–but a lot.

What I realized tonight is that even though we may love something and are passionate about, if we don’t take things moderately and in God’s timing, we will eventually burnout and become ineffective.  I immediately think of Jesus, who developed His mission and purpose for 33 years on this earth.  He took his time in picking and developing the disciples, teaching those who followed Him and healing those in need.  And He also took regular sabbaticals, or periods of rest, so that He could re-focus.  Jesus was most certainly passionate and loved what and who He was called to but He also did what He could to moderate himself and avoid fatigue.

For me, I don’t want to be ineffective in ANY of those above categories.  Perhaps you are like me and feel as if you are running a hundred miles an hour doing the things you love–but you are tired.

Take some time to rest.

Refocus your purpose and love.

and then Tackle your passion and purpose moderately.

Oh, and by the way, I really don’t LIVE for fortune cookie prophecies, though it was interesting that Noah’s (our 7 year old) tonight said, "you will soon come into some unexpected money."  Tonight, when we got home, he lost a tooth.

Have you ever gone from GREAT victory to DEVESTATING despair?  Had the world by the tail and the next moment felt as if the world was sitting on top of you, crushing you?  Breathed in the INVIGORATING air of the mountain top to find your next step sending you rolling FURIOUSLY down to the valley?

Your not the only one!!

In 1Kings 19.1-18 we see Elijah, an amazing prophet of God, go from one of the most powerful public displays of the strength of God to absolute anxiety and despair to the point of pleading to die.

As I read this passage I wrestle with why we see this sudden change in Elijah.  I believe there are three reasons Elijah last hope?

1.  He was tired.  In fact, Scripture records that he was VERY zealous for the Lord and His work and had worked continuously to see the Israelites turn from false gods to THE God!!!  Therefore, he was tired, which is understandable.  It is always good for us to work hard with what God wants us to do, but it is also necessary to take some time to rest.  Even Jesus, during his earthly ministry, took time to rest!

2.  He needed to get away.  Much like the last point, if we do not take time to step out of the fight to get refreshed, we will certainly lose the battle.  During this time of reflection God did some amazing things:

• He fed Elijah.  Elijah would nap and when he woke there was food and drink sitting next to his head.  How cool is that????  God supplied even during a tough time in Elijah’s life.
• He kept Elijah safe.  God protected Elijah and even sent him to a safe cave where he could rest and reflect.
• He spoke to Elijah.  This, to me, is the coolest part of the story.  In a time of despair, God speaks, in a most incredible way, to Elijah. 

11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

3.  He let people get BIGGER than God.  I have a book sitting in on my library shelf titled, When People are Big and God is Small by Edward Welch. 

Welch talks about the power people have on our life if we take our focus off of God.  This is what I believe Elijah struggled with the most.  He let wicked Jezebel get the best of him and forgot that, though people seem BIG at time, God is ALWAYS bigger!

Next time you feel like all hope is lost, don’t lose your fight, but instead take time to revitalize your soul and your LOVE for God and His work.