Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.
-Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Are you feeling heavy, burdened, stressed out, or struggling to take a breath?
Does life feel like it’s constantly going at full speed ahead, and you’re wondering when you can catch a break?
That kind of life is not the light and free life that Jesus promised belongs to us.
So why do we stay under a yoke and burden that is not the way of Jesus?
Mostly because we’ve depended on our own understanding (human reasoning), believing this busy and demanding life is “normal” on this side of Heaven?
Did you seek God for this season and ask Him what His will is for you?
What I’ve observed with my Jesus family is that rather than take a look at what we have going on and “seek Him in all our ways” we ask Him to give us peace, or worse, we don’t even consider praying — we’re just waiting to get to that much-needed break, vacation, or decide life will slow down when we’re retired because we live under a belief that says, “we must press on and keep going!”
God has shown me through His Word, and those warning nudges, that this kind of thinking is the pressure of our world and not the way of His Kingdom…yes, even with serving and ministry.
This includes pastors and leaders!
We should be the ones displaying what it looks like to seek God in all we do and trust Him with the path, unlocking the light and free life with Jesus, not projecting it, but actually living it; if we aren’t living it, we can’t effectively teach God’s way.
If we believe we have to keep up with all the demands people and life put on us and we’re not trusting God with what He would have us do, we won’t really know which path to take.
I’m thankful the Holy Spirit gave me this revelation before He called me to lead in full-time ministry. I have always served my church and even helped establish two church plants. During those years of serving, I watched so many of my brothers and sisters reach burnout with their families and careers, and in church. Everybody was always stressed but they sure could put on their Sunday smile!
During those years, as I sat at the feet of Jesus, He showed me something profoundly different.
I learned to seek Him in everything, and He guided my path.
He told me what to say yes to and when to say no.
I learned to obey even at the cost of hurting someone’s feelings or being judged unfairly.
He taught me His ways, and His way led me to a peace-filled life.
I have experienced seasons where my responsibilities would make someone’s brain hurt just hearing about it, but I had complete peace and life felt light — I had the grace to manage all that God had for me in that season.
I’ve experienced seasons of not taking on a whole lot and saying mostly no. One would think I was unwilling or maybe even selfish, but it was a God no because He was doing something else with me, and that’s where His grace was.
I’ve learned that leaving God out of the equation is the quickest way to burn out and that even if it seems like a good thing, it may not be a God thing. Looking back, I can honestly tell you that the moments I said yes out of pressure or obligation, without checking in with God first, have been the most stressful seasons of my life.
But when I read my Bible, I see that life with Jesus is light and free…I had to undo the programming and subtle messages I received through the culture of our world and even in the church.
We’ve bought into a lot of lies — living with knots in our stomachs and heaviness in our chests because all we have to manage is a big one!
If I am overwhelmed or stressed in any way, or I have heaviness and dread over me — I stop and check in with Jesus.
As I do this, I take an honest evaluation of my commitments and then I invite God to speak into each one.
Have I said yes to too many things?
Am I doing something in this season I’m not meant to?
I have to sift through everything that I have committed to, invite God to speak into each area of my life, seeking His will in all I do, and have the willingness to let go of some things to live in the lightness and peace that Jesus promises is mine.
Now, there are times when it’s not the commitments that are the issue — it’s that we’re going at life apart from Him. I’m referring to the ways, we as a body, have overextended ourselves, have committed to things that are not what we were designed for, saying yes to responsibilities that are outside of what God wills for us.
Paying attention to what we are feeling is vital.
Are we light and free, or burdened and overwhelmed?
If we don’t evaluate what’s going on in the pit of our bellies, then we practically beg Jesus to help us, when in reality we have to do some letting go in practical ways.
I’m a firm believer that a lot of the diagnoses, illnesses, and medical problems our bodies are experiencing are because we were not designed to carry the stresses we’re living under.
It is not God’s will, and we need to stop believing the lie that we have to do more in order to be enough.
God never said that.
Man did.
That’s humanistic thinking, not the Kingdom of God!
I love the paraphrase of Jesus’ words in Matthew (11:28-30), the message version:
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Life pressures (and people) can make us feel like we need to take on more than God requires of us, and we don’t have His grace covering us to walk it out. This is where life becomes heavy and overwhelming. God’s grace is sufficient for what He wants us to do, not what we want to do or what others expect us to do.
Sometimes we’ve said yes to things we feel are right, leaning on our human understanding, but the heaviness and anxiety as the outcome could be God’s way of getting our attention that it’s not what He wants us to do.
Not every good idea is a God idea.
We live in a culture filled with pressure to keep up, do more, serve more…hustle — go, go, go, and it’s costing us the peace that belongs to us through Jesus.
We are stretching ourselves too thin, living under a pressure God never put on His children, and that’s why we’re overextended, making commitments that are outside of what God has for us in season.
And our bodies and minds are breaking down!
We have got to stop leaving the “seek His will in all you do” out of the equation and check in with Him regularly.
I’m challenging you today to pull away with Jesus. Take an honest look at what you’ve piled on your plate, seek God for His will and trust that He will show you the path He has for you in this season.
Let go of the commitments you don’t have the grace to carry out, and be willing to let others down, knowing you’re not letting your Heavenly Father down.
He is pleased with your willingness to put what He says above everyone else, and you will experience the peace and freedom that belongs to you through Jesus.
