Simplify Life and Ministry
We are a busy culture. We make plans, trips, reservations which creates calendars full of one activity after another. We have established a pace that is not sustainable and leads to exhaustion and burnout.
How can we know what God’s will is for us if we settle for the “it is what it is'' philosophy and are too busy to seek His counsel and wisdom for our lives and ministries? What if simplifying our lives and our ministries by resting would provide the time and margin we need to hear from the Lord about our priorities, schedules, plans and programs?
Clarify Personal Vision and Direction
I Kings 19:3-4
And [Elijah] was afraid, and got up and ran for his life… But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and he asked for himself to die, and said, “Enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.
I am so thankful God is patient with us. He doesn’t condemn Elijah after he runs away in fear and discouragement. God refreshes him. He gives Elijah food, nourishment, rest and friendship. And one chapter later in I Kings 20 Elijah returns to his calling as the prophet of God.
What about you? Have you lost vision or direction for your future? Have you lost a sense of calling and hear God saying, “What are you doing here?” Your situation might be related to burnout, strained relationships or circumstances that are out of your control.
Read more to discover a few practical steps that can help you renew and clarify your vision and direction when you feel defeated, confused or alone.
Magnify the Ministry of Prayer
Do you have a concern, need or burden for which you are waiting to hear from God? Have you prayed, waited, prayed more, but feel like giving up?
Rather than accepting an “it is what it is” mentality, let’s resolve ourselves to make our prayer life “all that it can be!” What we can do is magnify the ministry of prayer. E.M. Bounds said, “Our praying needs to be pressed and pursued with an energy that never tires, a persistency which will not be denied, and a courage that never fails.”
Amplify Corporate Worship
With online services so easily at our fingertips, many are struggling to see the church family return to in-person gatherings. Of course, some are hesitant to return due to health concerns, social concerns and fear. But for many, I wonder if it could simply be laziness. I have had countless people tell me it is so much easier to get up later on Sunday morning, relax, get a cup of coffee and sit in the family room to watch church online rather than participate with their church.
Rather than adopting the “it is what it is” philosophy, we can amplify corporate worship for ourselves, our families and our churches.
Intensify Bible Teaching and Appliction
I fear that many believers approach God’s Word so casually, that it has little impact on their lives. I often wonder if the reason many are not coming back to church in attendance is a reflection of minimal Bible exposure.
The headlines today are filled with crisis, conflict, confusion and chaos. There are many questions regarding politics, government, medicine, war, sports, media and more. What is the truth? What is not the truth? And who can you trust to report the truth? Do we just fold our arms and say, “it is what it is?” What can we do? We can get back to the Bible - the ultimate source of truth.
Unify the Church Family of Believers
“It is what it is,” a statement of defeat, seems to have become the motto of the church. But it doesn’t have to be. There is much we can do, and one of those things is to unify relationships within the true Body of Christ.
Believers in Christ face serious challenges today: cultural, political, relational and more. There are so many differing opinions among us. But there is also something we share in common: our love for Jesus! That should be our driving passion - the Christ-life.
What We Can Do
Many years ago a pastor-friend expressed that he didn’t appreciate the phrase “it is what it is.” In fact, he adamantly resisted the thought. Instead, he prefers to believe “it is what we make it to be..” Difficulties in life will come, but this is not time for us to “hold the fort.” It is time for us to “take the hill.” And we can do that by faith. God has a great plan. Let’s dispense with “it is what it is” and embrace the faith to “make it what it can be” by doing what we can do…and we can do much!!!
New Beginnings (Part 4)
“Keep doing what you’ve been doing.” These simple, yet profound words from my health coach remind me to stay the course after a journey of losing 120 pounds and regaining my health during 2021.
Philippians 3:16 has a similar but higher call to action for our spiritual health: "…let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”
New Beginnings (Part 3)
The journey to “press on” has a major obstacle, one we must all face. It is our past. We must be determined to press on and push forward. But we must also decide to give up looking back.
New Beginnings (Part 2)
Whatever the journey is that God has for you in 2022, you can be sure it will take dedication, discipline and determination. Philippians 3:12 - 14 likens this journey to a race. The imagery in these verses tells us to reach forward, to press on, to attain the prize, to press toward the goal. We believers are “journeying on” in this Christian race.
New Beginnings (Part 1)
“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14 NASB
Regardless of how we measure life, we are on a journey! For those of us that are Christ-followers, that journey has an important mark. When salvation occurred, the journey took on new meaning, new hope, new challenges and new objectives. It also gives us new adventures. And that is exactly what today is for Gina and me. Today begins a new adventure in ministry.