TIRED AND HURTING?
NOT AT CHURCH?
What do you do when you are so tired that you start making mistakes? Or you make wrong decisions? Have you ever been there? Is there something you missed that would have stopped you becoming so tired? Maybe tired is not the right word, perhaps exhausted - frustrated, or at your wits end could be a better ways of describing what I mean. In the bible the word ‘tired’ is not about being tired - it uses the word weary. When you try hard to be full of compassion, sometimes there comes a time when we move from God’s compassion somehow and end up trying to have compassion in our own strength. If you are ‘trying hard’ that should be a sign to you that you have taken hold of the reins. That is never good and it will exhaust you. You see tiredness can come from doing everything in your own strength.
GALATIANS 6 VERSES 7 - 9 says: 7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Whatever we do, we will have done to us too. Actually this scripture is saying: Do not be led astray; God is not to be ridiculed: Because whatever someone sows (in word or deed) that is exactly what he will reap!! If you sow to the flesh, or in other words take it upon yourself to do everything in your own strength, then your sowing will be fruitless and only reap corruption. This is because we are all born corrupted into a corrupted world. But whoever sows to the Spirit will reap, of the spirit, life everlasting. So, don’t become tired in well doing because in due season we will reap, if we don’t tire out or faint. Tiredness can come from running after everyone else and forgetting your own needs. You may have lost your peace, but God is with you and all you have to do is ask. Have you ever thought about that?
Have you ever belonged to a church and thought to yourself - I am the only one doing anything around here? Or, I am the only one who can do this. If that is true of you then I think it is safe to say you are probably very tired and maybe a little disappointed, but you are at the same time wondering why! We are not always aware of how we slowly take over what God is doing in our lives, and it is very often the case that when we become ill, overtired, stressed etc that it slowly dawns on us something is not quite right. I know of people who think that the more they do for others, i.e. serving others for some reason the more pleased God will be. They are people-pleasers and that comes from a sense of wanting to feel needed or appreciated.
I have to disappoint and maybe upset them - we do not please God only by our works - no matter how well intentioned they are. We are not impressing anyone by all our hard works and efforts. JAMES 2 : 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
In Hebrews 11 verse 6 we are reminded that ‘without faith it is impossible to please God’. Faith is belief, and faith on its own is dead, but with actions it is rightly balanced and will bring pleasure to God. It is always good to be well-intentioned but always check if it is the will of God or not. Very often we determine to do what we think is the right thing, and actually it is only because we think it it’s the right thing, but it is not a God thing. To work outside of God’s will is a waste of energy and a waste of resources and in the long run will never succeed. Sometimes practical help is needed and it is always good to offer that help when required. It is the state of the heart of the practical helper that shows God your motives for helping. What are those motives? Are they to further the Kingdom of God or are they to further yourself in the eyes of people?
Tiredness can approach for several reasons, some through our own bad stewarding of time, and others because we are not willing to delegate or share the burden. God put us all here to be in relationship and not just with him but with each other too. Are you looking at someone and thinking ‘I’m glad I’m not like them’? Or are you seeing someone and thinking ‘I wish I was like them’? Well, I have new for you. You are unique and made individually down to your very fingerprints. There is no-one else like you - there is only you who are you! The same goes for each one of us. Have you grown up being told you always do things wrongly? Has this given you a mental attitude of ‘not being good enough?’ This can be a root cause of tiredness too. It can be the cause of tiredness because you may have been striving all your life to be better when actually all God wants is for you to be you. He made you - he knows you intimately and knows every flaw. On saying that, if you are a born again believer you have been made perfect in Jesus and there is no need to strive at anything. I know what it is like to be driven by desire to do something and unless it is God in the driving seat I also know it will fail. I have failed many times - due to me taking back control (or so I thought). God loves EVERY person who has lived, is alive and who is yet to be born. Not everyone will accept his love, but he does not stop loving us - ever. Many people have left church because they have felt undervalued, over worked or they are just exhausted from ministering all the time. These people have probably never truly been ministered to. When a church allows someone to burn out it is usually because everyone is focused on themselves and are not seeing what is happening around them. People have left church because in their tiredness and weariness they have been misunderstood, or they have misunderstood when someone has suggested they slow down. At the point of exhaustion nothing that is said will be comforting if it sounds like a telling off. This conversation is all about church life, why people leave, why people join and what is the purpose of being part of a church. The sad thing is that mostly not everyone feels part of the fellowship. Let's look at how to love our neighbour in a 'new normal' relevant for today after COVID19.
When leadership overlook someone you have to question why? When you feel that you have no place in a church, very often it is nothing about you but speaks volumes about those over you. Some people leave because they experience the pain of broken promises. Some people make a mistake and are basically told off or are even told not to come back. When people have made mistakes they hurt themselves and others too. It is up to those over them to help them work through those mistakes. Unfortunately many people leave with bitter thoughts about where they have come from. Church should be a safe place, where broken people like me and you can be mended through the love of the fellowship and the guidance of those over us. Sadly this does not always happen. I know the pain of a split church. I know the suspicions of other churches when you are looking for a spiritual home. I know the feeling of not belonging - yet being a child of God. If you have experienced any of the above, why not contact me? My spiritual home is in another country, not the one I live in, yet I know I am loved and appreciated, and I know I contribute and what I contribute is valued. Talk to me. Let us have a conversation about being a child of God.
Acts 2 verse 42 says: 42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. There are many more ways to have church without actually going to a physical building. Some of us are unable to attend a physical building because of disability, distance, transport etc, not just because of COVID, but we can still do all of what it says in that one verse - even on our own from our sitting room. Your union with God will guide you on where he wants you to fellowship and how - do not be conformed into thinking there is only one way to have church.
There is only one way that is right living and that is through Jesus Christ and he is in you all the time. He is your righteousness in God. You do not have to have a hardened heart anymore, let him remove it and give you a new, soft heart. Talk to me.
Until next time, God bless you and keep you. xxx
