Don't Give Up (2)

Intro:

Quiet time REFLECTING—things have been moving at warped speed these past 2 1/2 - 3 years; although it has at moments felt like it has lasted a lifetime.

Thought about how very FULL these years have been—for us we’ve had celebrations— birthdays, anniversaries, 3 graduations, a college send off, we have had challenges — presidential election that brought division to our church, racial upheaval that brought division, a pandemic that brought division, CDC even caused a bit of confusion at times, and we have experienced the pain of deaths in our church from one of our little girls drowning in Lake Michigan and others from covid. Along with those deaths we have experienced the joy of new life with a baby boom in our church. All of these situations required Ed and I to minister to people in a variety of ways. And then I realized why I feel tired at times.

Pondering how often we get so busy with ministry that the emotional, mental, physical and even spiritual aspects of our make up have a hard time keeping up with one another.

When that happens we can feel tired, depleted, even discouraged at times with whatever the situation may be we become vulnerable to allowing our emotions to be in the driver’s seat driving us to the point we are ready to throw in the towel and quit what God has called us to..

We question: Has anyone else ever experienced this?

Looking through Scripture at different people who seemed to experience intense moments in their ministry, God placed on my heart some things to guard against when life feels overwhelmingly full and draining:

Jonah—Life was busy for Jonah: Busy running from God,

being thrown over a boat, swallowed by a big fish then vomited out of the fish, preached a great message that a whole town repented—he took a rest under a little plant God provided for him only to have a worm eat it and he was tired, angry, and despondant.

Jonah 4:1–8 NLT

1 This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. 2 So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. 3 Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.” 4 The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?” 5 Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant. 7 But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. 8 And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.

**MY AGENDA CANNOT SUPERCEDE GOD’S PLAN

Rick Warren: Its not about me—its all about God

Elijah—he had a big day on the mountain top of Mt Carmel—taking on Ahab and the priests of Baal, calling down fire from Heaven, completing his victory by killing the priests of Baal,

had a death sentence placed on his head by Jezebel; and he ran for his life until he was so tired he had to stop and he felt fearful, and so discouraged he was ready to stop.

1 Kings 19:4–5 NLT

4 Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” 5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!”

**DON’T LET THE WORDS OF OTHERS DETOUR US FROM GOD’S PLAN

PROACTIVE

Hebrews 12:1–3 NLT

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.

What do I see Jesus do?

Luke 5:15–16 NLT

15 But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

Matthew 14:13 NLT

13 As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns.

Matthew 8:24 ESV

24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.