I am convinced that one
reason the devil has access to people's emotions is
that they keep flying through life without taking time
to get renewed in the Presence of the Lord. They
ignore their need to sit, to rest, and to wait upon
the Lord. As a result, their perception of things
around them gets blurred. Doing too much at too fast
of a pace has worn them down, causing them to lose
their focus and affecting their ability to see things
the way they really are.
I know exactly what it's like to move at such a fast
pace - to get the adrenaline flowing and then keep it
flowing like a river for days at a time. When you're
moving that fast, it's difficult to stop when you
finally try to sit down and rest because your
adrenaline is still racing. You may be sitting down
physically, but you're still running emotionally!
There's a big problem with moving so fast. The demands
of our schedule - job, family, church, friendships,
and so forth - start piling up, each overlaying the
other as we race from place to place. When this
happens, we start becoming ineffective in every area
of life. We're just trying to do too much, too fast.
Eventually our busyness leads to a breakdown of
everything. The body suffers. The mind suffers. The
work suffers because we're too tired to perform at 100
percent and therefore can't do our job to our full
potential. This then results in our having to battle
feelings of condemnation for not doing a better job!
Let's face it - it's extremely difficult to do
everything simultaneously. You may be able to swing it
for a while, but in time, you'll start missing
important details, forgetting what you said, missing
appointments, messing up in your finances, and even
getting emotional over unemotional issues because
you've pushed yourself beyond your limit. If this is
you, slow down and set aside some time to
spend with the Lord.
I have to admit that sometimes I also fall into the
trap of doing too many things too fast. At times, I
feel like a locomotive that is racing down the track!
It's not that I want to move so fast, but to get it
all done correctly, I have to keep moving and stay on
schedule. If I delay in one area, it throws everything
else off schedule and creates a schedule crisis for
many others in the ministry. For everyone else to do
their jobs effectively, it means I must stay on
schedule and keep on track every day of my life.
In moments when I feel overwhelmed, I hear Jesus speak
to my spirit and say, "Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"
(Matthew 11:28). Notice that Jesus begins this verse,
"Come unto me." This is from the Greek word deute, and
it is a greeting that literally means, "Come -
come now! I am inviting you to come!"
In Greek, it has the feeling of an exclamation, which
lets us know that Jesus joyfully welcomes us to come
to Him.
Jesus then says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour."
This implies that Jesus' invitation to come to Him is
a special invitation directed to those who "labour."
The word "labour" in Greek is from the word kopiao,
which describes a person who has become completely
exhausted due to nonstop, continuous work. This
is obviously a person who has a lot of responsibility
and is doing his best to do it all in a professional
and excellent fashion. In order to do everything that
is on his plate, this person is required to work hard
all the time. That's why Jesus beckons this person to
come to Him!
And Jesus doesn't beckon only the hard worker; He also
calls out to those who are "heavy laden." These words
are from the word phortidzo, depicting a
person who is carrying a very heavy load on his back.
Perhaps this load is his job, his family, his
financial situation, or some personal burden.
Regardless of what it is, Jesus pleads for the "heavy
laden" person to come to Him!
To anyone who responds to this invitation and comes to
Jesus, He promises that He will give them "rest." The
word "rest" is the Greek word anapauo, the word that
means to refresh, to rejuvenate, to reinvigorate,
or to revitalize. You see, the Lord wants to
refresh us so we can keep doing what He has called us
to do. He wants us to be refilled so we can remain
effective.
The only way we can remain continually effective is by
making sure we spend time with the Lord. But in order
to truly enter His Presence so we can hear the voice
of the Holy Spirit, we must first quiet ourselves by
getting away from the commotion of life and finding a
quiet place to worship, pray, and read the Word.
That's the only way we can quiet our soul enough to be
able to hear God's voice speaking to our inner man. To
think that we are going to run into the Lord's
Presence and get everything we need in the space of
five minutes just isn't realistic. We must
schedule time to be alone with God.
Don't just run in and run out of the Lord's Presence.
Plan to settle down and stay there long enough to get
everything you need to carry on! Once you've stopped
long enough to really rest in His Presence, you're
finally in a position where you can start receiving
from Him. Don't move too fast. Don't leave until you
receive the refreshing you need. Just hang around in
God's Presence as long as you possibly can! Tarry
there awhile, and let the Holy Spirit give you peace,
joy, strength, and direction.
Learn to rest in God's Presence. You see, there is a
quiet place in Him, a place of refreshing, where you
will find comfort, peace, and protection - every time.
This is why Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
Notice that Jesus doesn't say He will come to you. He
says that you must choose to go to Him! But if
you will make the deliberate choice to wait upon the
Lord, Jesus promises that you will find this promised
rest!
This is your key to remaining steadfast and strong
enough to keep on schedule and to stay on track with
everything you need to do. And I promise you - if you
will wait long enough in His Presence, He will speak
to your heart to let you know if all your activities
are ordained of Him or if there are some obligations
or activities you need to eliminate.
Spending time with the Lord is not an option - it is
the answer! So come into the Presence of God and allow
Him to refresh you. As you do, the Holy Spirit will
release His resurrection power and you will be
quickened in your physical body. You will be
strengthened, refreshed, recharged, and supernaturally
empowered by God so you can get back out there with a
fresh perspective and new energy to finish what you
have started! |