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Hey, Can You Spot Me? Can Anyone Help Me? Is There Anyone There? Help!

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I grew up my entire life always being enriched with wondrous virtues and instruction. Things like:

“Trust in the Lord and He will never fail you”

“You need to be saved in order to make Heaven your home”

“Ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins”

“Hold on through the storm and God will not leave you”

“When no one else will help encourage yourself”

I believed those words from all of those whom spoke these to me that they meant well and spoke it from a good place in their heart. In fact, I have even clung to the encouragement and listened to the instruction that I was told. However I cannot help but feel like that in the day I live in that something feels different than before. The many voices that I use to hear deliver such phrases are declining and I find myself looking inside my soul for strength now more than ever. It made me think, “Is this the way it’s supposed to be? Is it like riding a bike and once you’re off you no longer need that encouragement and kind push?”

At first I thought, “Yeah that’s got to be it. I’m just not praying and working hard enough or I would obviously see what I’ve been told my whole life”. And then after months and months of more decline (almost to silence) I then stood exhausted from all the effort and began to question myself in my feverish pursuit of keeping the bar that I had been told to hold my whole life up completely on my own. Thanks be to God somehow I came through what would have probably broke others down to loneliness and depression. When my pride wanted me to just write everyone off that had seemingly forsaken me the spirit of the Lord quickened me and began to teach me about something I had never realized before.

My revelation was simply this: we all need a spotter from time to time, but sometimes we are to be the spotter when others cannot carry their own load. It put me in the mind of this imagery:

spotting

Then I recalled this scripture:

Romans 15:1 

1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

Powerful, right?! This helps me to realize that I am not to carry everything alone but I am not to always expect others to run to me either. Until we can learn to help each other as Christ instructed (love our neighbors as ourself) than we are trying to selfishly lift our own weights and demand the world to be our spot.

So what do you do when you cannot seem to carry your own weight? What do we do when no one steps up to help us in a time of weakness?

1) First of all, stop screaming for help from other people. Chances are if no one has come to your aid yet that God has not received your full trust and surrender. Have you confessed to God your shortcomings and the pains and hurts of your life that seem to keep you down. This heavy load we willingly carry needs to be the first thing we get rid of. Cleansing your soul is necessary. Repenting sincerely of things will help you to get up and feel lighter before you make the first effort towards anything.

2) Secondly, stop trying to lift a weight that you cannot carry without God’s help. We cannot continue to try to get to the mountain top without seeing that it takes thousands of steps before we hit the pinnacle. Daily prayer and thanksgiving opens the doorway of your heart to be humbled and at peace with things you cannot change. It also helps you to gain clarity on things that are making it harder for you than it should be.

3) Thirdly, make an effort that you feel like you can handle. Get to a church weekly, read some scripture everyday (you do not have to put yourself to sleep to have a meaningful bible study), pray for a few minutes a couple times a day, listen to some praise and worship at some point and allow meditation toward God, and keep a positive attitude even in the face of adversity. God would have you to walk simple steps of faith than to try and run with so many complexities.

4) Fourth, once you begin to establish your personal connection to God begin to challenge yourself. Step out of your comfort zone every now and then. Praise him a little more than normal. Pray a few minutes longer than normal. Help someone like you would help yourself. For as we challenge ourselves we find that this is where we begin to build strength and get stronger. And as you begin to step out by faith in these moments when you would be afraid God will help you and spot you initially with an overwhelming move of his presence and favor all about you.

5) Finally, once you realize that you can handle some things then begin to look for situations and individuals that you know you can lend a hand too. The bible talks of it being far better to give than receive. I have found that I gain just as much strength helping someone else learn to lift and carry the burdens of life than I do always just yelling for help and never trying.

Remember: we can lift a stronger amount of weight together than if we tried to do it separately on our own. Help others that you know that you can and remember that as you help them it will build you up to be stronger. And as we lead by example I hope and pray that this decline in encouragement begins to cease and that we return to the sincere compassion of Christ.

Are You Overextended? Five Powerful Thoughts To Simplify Your Situation

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over-extended

I love illustrations because sometimes it helps to explain feelings that do not always have good adjectives to represent them. Is your life defined by all you get done at work? Are you not getting enough done at home? Do people pressure you into doing more because they have unreasonable expectations or want someone to do it for them? Have you or do you deal with people that always seem to put more on you than what is reasonable? Do some situations that people put you in make you want to scream?!?

I guess what I am really asking is, do you feel overextended? Overextend in its meaning towards people means that you impose on (someone) an excessive burden of work or commitments. In reference to objects or ideals it means to make too long. If you really took a minute to look inside of your personal life you will find that in a lot (or maybe even) of the things you do is WAY more than one can accomplish in one day. We only get 24 hours in a day and at least 6 are for rest, all the while we have to work, run errands, do hobbies, put out drama fires, handle emergencies, etc. When the list piles up in your mind it almost makes every day like it’s the worst day to come.

To be honest I have been overextended in many things during the past 8 years. Let’s just hash some personal examples: working 40-50 hours a week, working out 5 times a week, commuting to work two hours for five days a week, preaching full-time, teaching music, attending music practice, working in outside ministry…wait a second…I have not even mentioned anything to do with family, friends, or my brothers & sisters in Christ!  Can you see where it would be easy to lose yourself in being overextended? This was also leaving a huge gap in my intimate adoration and worship to God. I’m happy to say that God has been working on me for the good and I’m reaching out to those who feel the same way to share with you how God has been teaching me to flip the script on busy living and to learn and take a deep breath (and that it’s okay).

Here are five thoughts God has inspired me to share with you:

1) If we have something that MUST be done, God will help you see it through

1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

James 1:12 “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

Deadlines do not just disappear when we want them to. Having to deal with difficult situations do not just leave from our to-do list. To deal with these realities we must pray that God strengthen us for the hour that we will need it (and ultimately is harder than we can handle on our own). Seek God for continual peace through your difficult time and by His spirit you will never feel alone. If you allow God the chance to be there for you the joy you will feel when you come out of it will be as if you were royalty; undeserving of the happiness yet through God’s love its promised to you. That makes me smile.

2) To reduce over-extension we must learn to pray before we simply commit to more

One of the best methods to keep a person from being over-extended is to stop it before it ever occurs via prevention. How do we reduce the chances? Prayer is a very good starting place.

Proverbs 8:17  “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.”

Deuteronomy 4:29-31 “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.”

This passage not only references starting your day out with seeking God but for those who will allow God the chance to lead them even before a commitment. And once you have been showed by God what can be reduced then simply walk through the door and not worry over it any longer. The lighter we walk the more we embrace the burdens’ that God makes to be lighter!

3) People will only know your limits when you communicate them

Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

Romans 15: 1 “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.”

“seasoned with salt” is a nice way to refer to the fact that we must communicate and handle situations with God’s widsom. By the wisdom of God we learn to know our boundaries and can be shown how to communicate the fact that we simply do not have the time or the strength to add more unto what is going on in the present. Until people hear from you and can understand that you are going through things then there is no one else at fault for this but you. Once you have spoken your boundaries it is then you give people the opportunity to help you bear the load and not continue to put more demands upon you. In fact if we live according to the word at that point those that are strong should change from their demands and begin to help you with your needs.

4) Don’t worry about what people think about you. You can only do so much with your commitments.

Psalm 118:5-6 “I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?”

Philippians 2:3-4 “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

The kind of peace that helps you to stop thinking or worrying over the opinions of others only comes by the peace of God. Seek for it that your load may be lighter and that your desire become more aligned with pleasing God with how you live and the good you do with what you’ve got.

5) If you center your life to righteousness you can drop all the things that are “busy attacks” on your focus

Proverbs 23:4 “Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist”

Psalm 37:5 “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;”

If the first priority in your life is God then I can assure you that the things you desire will begin to be aligned to his will. And as this happens you can see the things that come as opportunities as opposed to the things to shun that would just keep you busy all the time. God wants your life to be fruitful without your entire life being centered on making it happen by yourself. You even read in Luke 10:38-42 about Martha who was told by Christ that you are “anxious and trouble about many things but one is necessary”. What was that necessary? It was what Jesus called the “good portion”. There is a way of right-living before God that will reduce all the over-extending and allow you the opportunities to slow down and enjoy the moments that are right in front of you!

So just remember that at the end of the day there needs to be a season for all things, however you must yield to the seasons and not push beyond your means and max limits. Learning to allow God to give you strength when you need it and guidance when you have it creates a more balanced lifestyle. This balance can help you to be a better help to others and will help you realize what you can do with the time that would have been otherwise squandered by the enemy.