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Volume 08, Issue 15: Burn Out Equates to Proximity

While writing "Whatever God sees needs doing" the other week, it occurred to me that inviting God to do life with us equates to managing the demands of life like a pro. When we are obedient to God, he is there with us. He equips us and fights alongside us. With him, we win the battles because he does whatever he sees needs doing.

I talked about how expansive I find my job. What I didn't say is that in addition to that, I take on managing a home hands on, and taking care of growing children. Unlike most of my peers whose work end when they leave the office, I by choice, walk into other "jobs" when I leave the office. I put on multiple hats, including but not limited to chauffeur, cook, homework assistant, house organizer and planner. I know this is no big deal for my sisters in the US, but it is in Kenya, because unlike in the US, all inclusive domestic help is very affordable here. I, for some reason, not entirely known to me, but a factor of my makeup, prefer to limit domestic help to tasks around cleaning.

Listening to Pastor Sam Roberts of Life Church talk of how his job is overseeing 29 churches, and how the burden of that huge responsibility is light on him because of his proximity to God showed me that it's not about how expansive our roles are, but how we go about them. I now have a better understanding why I don't feel burdened by my load, and I am going to let you in on the secret in just a moment.

Jesus beckons us, "Take my yoke upon you. My yoke is easy, my burden is light." Like Pastor Sam, we could respond to that by saying, "God, how can you say that? I thought I was walking in step with you, I am doing everything I am supposed to do. How can you say that when you have given me all these responsibilities?"

I now understand better that if I experience burn out, it's not because of the extent of my responsibilities. My burn out has very little to do with the amount of work I am having to do at any given moment. It has to do with my proximity to Christ.

We read in the fortieth chapter of the book of Isaiah that God energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles. they run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind. How about that?

Our proximity to Christ will determine and guide our steps throughout the day, where even though the responsibilities are great, the burden becomes lighter because we feel we are walking in step with him, and he is giving us the wisdom and the things we need in order to be effective.

Walking in proximity to Christ is nothing magical. It is waiting on God, which is spending time with God, doing those basic things of our faith walk, pursuing a relationship with Christ. When we do this, we are taking God's yoke upon us, walking in step with him, and we don't burn out.

We will most certainly experience burn out if we do life foolishly, doing what only God can do, taking on more than we should, going on without rest. Even with a lot of responsibilities, God doesn't require us to work all the time. To stay clear of burn out, wisdom calls for taking all the help we need, committing to a good night's rest every night, a sabbath rest once every week, and extended breaks from all work every now and then.

 

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

 

Volume 08, Issue 14: Whatever He Sees Needs Doing

I experienced an 'aha' moment from a study by Dr. Kim Kimberling and Pastor Sam Roberts of Life Church that I was doing last week. If we truly invite God to do life with us, he doesn't take a backseat while we fight our battles day after day. He comes alongside us to do what needs doing.

I find my work very expansive and for that reason, I am always asking for God's help every step of the way. But now I realize that even though I do that well, I hadn't fully surrendered my work to God, and that is why I sometimes felt burdened and overwhelmed by it. I was out of town on a short break from work last week, and as I was reflecting, I vividly remembered how my days felt before I left the office. This particular time I was on my desk on phone with my boss working out some computations for her when I had one of my staff come in for me to show her how to do something, and barely a minute after a colleague walked in with his laptop to show me something he wanted me to do for him. Moments before all that, I had hang up on a phone call from another colleague whom I asked to allow me to call her back later as I was trying to concentrate on something at the time. Most of my work days are like that, multiple requests for my attention, lots of demand on me in person and on email, things I have to think through and figure out, always having to provide guidance and advice on a myriad of things, while trying to attend to my to-do list.

I never thought of my work as a battle, but what if it is? We may not be fighting the battles Commander Joab fought in David's army, but I think mine and yours are battles just the same. God is our Commander in Chief and he is not a bystander. He is not sitting on his throne in heaven doing nothing. He will do whatever needs to be done if we invite him.

God is not interested in me only when I am praying and reading the Bible. He wants to be involved in our professional work, our recreation, our rest and fun, our activities at home, and everthing else. God wants to be with us in everything we do, everywhere we are. So, if that's the case, then we can't keep him in the sidelines when we are out battling at work. If we are smart, we will involve him, invite him to do battle with us. Then, because he is our shepherd, he will help us with it, restore us at the end of every day and prepare us for the next battle.

In the book of Second Samuel, David's offer of kindness to the new king of the Ammonites is not taken well. In fact, he suspects David has underlying motives against him and his people. Instead of embracing David's well-meaning men, King Harun instead seizes them and humiliates them by cutting off half of their beards and cutting their robes halfway up their buttocks. This, of course, meant war when word got to David.

King David dispatched Joab with his strongest fighters in full force to fight the Ammonites, who had now hired Aramean soldiers to fight with them. The Ammonites arranged themselves in battle formation at the city gate, while the Arameans took up a position out in the open fields. The Bible says that when Joab saw that he had two fronts to fight, before and behind, he took his best pick of Israel and deployed them to confront the Arameans. The rest of the army he put under the command of Abishai, his brother, and deployed them to confront the Ammonites.

What caught my attention and got me thinking about how to handle my own battles is what Joab said after deploying his troops. He said to Abishai, "If the Arameans are too much for me, you help me. And if the Ammonites prove too much for you, I,ll come and help you. Courage! We'll fight with might and maim for our people and for the cities of our God. And God will do whatever he sees needs doing!"

God will do whatever he sees needs doing? Wow! And guess what happened in this case. As Joab's and Abishai's men approached the enemy lines, both the Arameans and Ammonites ran off in full retreat from Israel's army. Both enemies down. The war was over even before it started! Talk about God doing whatever he sees needs doing!

By acknowledging that all they could do is the best they know how, and that God would take care of what they can't do, Joab invited God to come do battle with him, and do what only God could do. And God fought for them, released immense fear into the enemy troops that caused them to flee before Joab's troops.

I think when we find our work at the office, at home, or anywhere else overwhelming, it's because we are going about it the wrong way, or we are trying to do what only God can do. Why not surrender your load to God, commit to do your best while asking God to do what he sees needs doing? That's my resolution going forward. I am inviting God to do battle with me day after day. I hope you get the revelation too and start to do life differently.

God has all the answers we lack. Our strength is not in ourselves but in him. When the burden seems bigger than the mission, we shouldn't be afraid to admit that we can't do it, because the truth is we really can't, but God can. God will equip us and fight alongside us. With him, we will win the battles of our lives because he will do whatever he sees needs doing.

I give all the credit to Dr. Kim Kimberling and Pastor Sam Roberts of Life Church for the inspiration for this article.

 

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

 

 

Volume 08, Issue 13: Necessary Arrangements

What changes on the inside when we pour out our hearts to God? At the beginning of the first chapter of the book of 1st Samuel, Hannah was sad and dejected, reduced to tears and had no appetite for the food set before her. Her husband tried to encourage her but she was still sad.

The story changed when she pulled herself together and went to pray. Crushed in soul, Hannah prayed to God and cried inconsolably, telling God exactly how she felt and what she wanted.

Hannah admitted to the priest who thought she was drunk that she was desperately unhappy and in pain, pouring out her heart to God. She also asked the man of God to think well of her and pray for her. Then she went her way and ate heartily, her face radiant.

Do you realize that nothing had changed for Hannah between the time she went to pray and the time she returned back to her family? How is it that she left sad and dejected, didn't feel like eating, was broken-hearted as she prayed, but when she was done praying, she was in high spirits?

No promise of a child had been given to Hannah when she prayed yet her countenance changed. Why did she become happy and rested all of a sudden? That is something that only heartfelt prayer can do for you. Your situation may not change, but time with God transforms desperation into hope. It leaves you feeling settled regardless of whether you ever get what you want or not. After pouring out her heart to God , Hannah went her way. Then she ate heartily, her face radiant.

The reason I wrote this article today is because of what I saw at the end of the passage. I read the Message translation of the Bible because it speaks my language. It said that when Elkanah's family returned home, Elkanah slept with his wife Hannah, and God began making the necessary arrangements in response to what she had asked. How about that? And before the year was out, Hannah had conceived and given birth to a son.

When we pray aright, we not only get settled, but God begins making the necessary arrangements in response to what we ask. I can't get over that phrase, I hope you get it too.

 

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

 

Volume 08, Issue 12: Brokenness is not Weakness

I never quite understood the term 'brokenness'. I equated it with having been so battered with life that you can barely go on. It's a state I felt extremely sorry about when I heard it mentioned about someone. I think our society also disregards brokenness. We write you off when you are broken, because we expect people to have it all together.

When I thought of brokenness, I pictured walls that are falling apart, walls that an enemy has struck against to gain access. It then depicts that the people behind those walls are exposed to danger, and that they are hopelessly helpless. That was my understanding of brokenness.

I have since been enlightened on the matter and now understand that brokenness is not necessarily weakness, thanks to a sermon at Church one Sunday morning. That message impressed me so much that I want to relay it in the fashion I received it, not in my own words.

It matters what you do when broken. When David was living in Ziklag, hiding from King Saul, one day him and his men came back home to find the place burned down, and their families and possessions gone. David and his men wept aloud until they were out of strength. They were broken.

After weeping, David's men talked of stoning him, since they held him responsible for the loss of their families. This is where I saw how you can use your brokenness to your advantage. David encouraged himself in the Lord. Broken people turn tables when they draw their strength from God. When broken, pray for yourself, take refuge in God, put your trust in God.

After encouraging himself in the Lord, David then inquired of the Lord, and God answered and directed him. Broken people inquire from the Lord. God reveals his will to us when we inquire of him. Don't run to people when trouble strikes. Inquire of the Lord. Ask God what you should do, how you should respond. Ask God why your Ziklag is burned down. Ask him to reveal to you what he is saying about your situation.

David then did what God told him to do. He pursued his enemies and recovered all the people and plunder. Broken people follow God,s instructions to the letter. They engage with what God says. David pounced on the enemy and recovered everything.

When broken, the secret to restoration is walking in obedience. David's attitude was that of "God, if you say go, I will go. If you say jump, I will ask how high and jump."

Brokenness is the pathway to revival. May you find God's glory in the valley. Don't despise your state of brokenness. David came to his destiny in the place of his worst affliction.

 

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

 

Volume 08, Issue 11; Addition or Submission

I recently watched something that made me understand why different Christians behave the way we do. We say we are believers, but in actual sense, most “believers” today add Jesus into their lives, rather than submit to Him.

We are living in times when being a Christian is the in thing. Most of our friends and family have God talk in their conversations, they go to Church, are good and loving. But very few of them have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus.

You can add God into your life the same way you add physical exercise in your weekly routine or vegetables on your plate. Submission to the walk of faith is a different thing all together. Submission to God is about surrender. Its letting your life be influenced and directed by what God says.

When you have added God into your life, you continue living the way you lived before, only with Christian terminology in your speech every now and then.

When you submit your life to God, you give up your old life and take up a whole new life as directed by God’s word.

A Christian by addition has no convictions. They don’t stand for what God stands for. A believer by submission has convictions that are grounded on the Word of God. They are not embarrassed by their faith in God, and they don’t feel the need to hide who they are, nor try to conform to what everyone else is saying or doing.

How about doing a small self-assessment right now? Are you a believer by addition or submission? Have you just added God into your life or have you submitted your life to God? Who is calling the shorts in your life?

 

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi