Passionate about Purpose Part III

Welcome back to our Passionate about Purpose series. This is part three of our journey. If you are just now joining us hop on down to the first post in the series and read up.

In short review, in our last post we learned striving is a nasty word. We took a brief look at what drives us to strive and how our worth is NOT found in what we do.

Today we are going to discuss what leads to ministry burnout. In our first post I posed several questions to you. One of them was, "Are you, or have you, felt burnout in the area of ministry or Christian service?" If the answer was "yes", hopefully, today's post will shed some light and give you a direction in which to move.

As Christians I believe we all come to a point in our lives where we ask the question, "is this all there is?" If we are honest with ourselves, and each other, most of us have thought it and some of us have even verbalized it. Of course, with this thought comes a good deal of guilt, shame and condemnation. After all, He gave us the greatest gift imaginable, shouldn't we find pure joy in serving Him? The answer is "YES!" Serving Him should be pure joy....so why is it not for many?

Presence and overflow. Two key words which should be at the top of your Christian vocabulary list....way before the word service or servant. In this post we will focus on presence.

I have often said, "without the presence of God we can just all go home." What I mean by this statement is if we aren't hosting the presence of God in our life, especially in the area of Christian service, what we are doing is basically worthless. You might get the best Amy I have, but if His presence isn't on it, the best Amy is useless.

Let's see if I can make this a little clearer...can you think of a time you were in a church service, perhaps a weekend retreat or conference and the atmosphere felt absolutely lifeless? The music was good, the preaching or teaching was average, but something just seemed to be missing? I certainly have experienced this, in fact, most of my life I would say this was my opinion of church and church functions. You go to church and you go to these functions because it's what "good" Christians do, but it's not because they put a fire in your belly, it's because you feel obligated. This my friends is going through the motions. There came a time in my life I recognized there had to be more than this. The God I read about in the Bible simply wasn't this lifeless and boring! Jesus came so we could have life, abundant life (John 10:10.)

After being under the power and presence of God, I can now recognize when the Spirit has left the "building." I love the book by R.T. Kendall, "Sensitivity to the Spirit." He tells of the story in the Bible where Mary and Joseph have been to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. On their way back Mary and Joseph realize Jesus is not with them...it took them three days to realize this!!!! Now, we might read this story and think that is crazy...THREE DAYS! Would it take you three days to realize your child wasn't with you? Pastor Kendall likens this to the Dove (Holy Spirit.) How many times have we moved on in ministry, a church service, etc. without the presence of the Dove? Stuck in our routines, relying on our talents and the Dove has left the building and we don't even notice!

I really haven't done the subject of hosting the presence justice. How can I describe in a few words the magnitude of the power of His presence? I hope you will dig deeper in this subject and I pray Holy Spirit brings you wisdom and revelation...He, after all, is the very best teacher!

So, what is the cure for ministry burnout? I hope you are seeing the answer...it's His presence, but it's also overflow.

What is overflow? I am so glad you asked:) Overflow is the result of spending time in His presence, at His feet, in His lap, in the secret place with Him. When we seek Him we are promised in Scripture we will find Him (Jer. 29:13.) This is your greatest purpose as a child of the King! You were created to worship and love Him. If this is ALL you ever did, you will have fulfilled your highest calling.

In our next post we will discuss this purpose in greater detail and how if we live in a place of worship and overflow, serving Him is a natural by-product! Doesn't that sound wonderful and liberating? Serving Him is a natural by-product of spending time with Him!!!!!

Yes, we have made it harder than He ever designed it to be! Isn't He brilliant? If we would just slow down and seek Him life would be far more rewarding and enjoyable!

If you have spent any significant amount of time here at "My Soul Sings" you will recognize I am a proponent of experiencing God. I fully believe we were made to experience His goodness, power, love and grace in a tangible way. I also value His Word. It is both His written Word (logos) and His spoken word (rhema) that empowers me to walk in His presence and in His power. I have a tangible God. We are instructed to "taste and see He is good" (Psalm 34:8.)

Maybe you are hesitant to "experience" God. I am not here to change your mind, but to share my story of how He changed me and brought me into abundant life. Walking in lifeless religion, void of relationship and experience, didn't work for me...so I leave you with the question, "how's it working for you?" Yep, think about that one...

Until next time, I pray He reveals Himself to you as deep cries out to deep...your soul longs for Him. My Soul Sings because I have found what, no Who, it was crying out for...you can too!

If you enjoy reading My Soul Sings please become a follower of this blog and consider sharing it with a friend! Blessings on you!

He is willing

NOTE: This post is not part of our Passionate about Purpose series, but something I felt the Lord was wanting me to share.

Matthew 8:1-3 tells the story of the man with leprosy who came to Jesus. "When He came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed Him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, "Lord if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. "I am willing," He said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.

"I am willing." Three simple words which state God's desire to heal. He is willing. Does it say maybe? Does it say sometimes? Does it say if you jump through this hoop and that hoop? NO! It simply says, "I am willing." There are many verses which tell of God's will to heal, but none as simple as these three words found in the 8th chapter of Matthew.

I want to throw out a few more points for your consideration, not to win an argument or debate, but to share with you where I have landed on the question "is it God's will to heal?"

First, look at Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." Jesus healed every person who came to Him for healing....EVERYONE! How many more must He have healed that are not recorded in the gospels? This scripture tells us He is the same today as He was then. He is willing!

Second, Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Jesus sees us all the same. What He has done for one He will do for all! He is willing!

Third, why do many people when they pray for someones healing add at the end of the prayer, "if it's Your will, Lord?" In the 21 recorded healings of Jesus in the gospels, not once did He pray, "if it's Your will, Father." If we are to model Jesus, why do we pray such a thing? Is it because we hold unbelief and doubt in our heart and want a disclaimer at the end of the prayer just in case God doesn't come through? He is willing!

I have seen the supernatural hand of God at work. I am have seen cancer eradicated in the name of Jesus! I have witnessed deaf ears opening! I have seen legs grow out! I have seen supernatural healing in both of my children!

Rachel was healed, through prayer alone, without medical intervention, of an undiagnosed stomach disorder! Juliana was healed of asthma! I am still seeking healing in my own body for several medical conditions. Does this change what I believe God's will is....ABSOLUTELY NOT! Do I rationalize and make excuses for why I have yet to receive my healing? ABSOLUTELY NOT! He is willing!

The God of the universe doesn't need me making excuses for Him. I make the choice to empower the finished work of the cross which is salvation, healing and deliverance in my life. I make a choice NOT to empower the why questions. I choose to empower the solution and the solution is JESUS! He is willing!

Maybe you are struggling with sickness, disease, infirmity or emotional pain in your heart. Maybe you have questioned what God's will for you is. I want to encourage you not to give up! There is always HOPE in the arms of our Savior. He is mighty to save (body, soul and spirit.) If you would like me to pray with you, please send me a message through Facebook or to afdover@hotmail.com.

So, what about you? Will you choose to empower the Solution or empower the questions? My Soul Sings and can be at rest because I know, "He is willing!"

If you enjoy reading My Soul Sings please become a follower of this blog and consider sharing it with a friend! Blessings on you!

Passionate about Purpose Part II

Woo-hoo, my life has been full lately! What about yours? Happy to report the home church we are helping to start had it's first service last week and God blew us away...but, He always does when you are submitted to Him. Thank You, Jesus for such an opportunity. Normally today I would be ministering but I have the day off and I am so glad to get around to blogging! YAY!

In our first post about Passion and Purpose we asked some questions. We started to break down Psalm 46:10 and learned striving is truly the "s" word:) Briefly, we discussed how God desires us to be His friends and lovers, not just servants. It is from our relationship with Him that we serve from the overflow. If you haven't read the first post, I suggest you start there, because these posts are building upon each other.

Today we are going to take a look at what drives us to strive. I say "a look" because I can't begin to cover the roots of striving completely. I can only really share from what I have personally experienced.

As I said in the previous post, striving denotes a "doing" mentality. When we put our focus on "doing" instead of His presence, we fall into the Martha trap. If you are unfamiliar with the story of Mary and Martha in the Bible I suggest you read Luke 10:38-42. I recently heard a pastor say if you are in a Martha season, by all means, get out! Jesus rebuked Martha twice!

I once was Martha. When I hosted a gathering at my home perfection was the goal, details reigned supreme and I would bit your head off (just ask my husband and children) if you walked through the kitchen. Instead of focusing on creating an atmosphere of love for my guests I created one of tension and stress. As Jesus said to Martha, "Martha, Martha, you are worried about and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her."

Pastor Bill Johnson teaches on the importance of not putting principles over the presence (of God.) Principles are good and necessary for order, but shouldn't take precedence over hosting the presence of God. It's in the presence of God where people are touched, transformed, healed and loved!

So, what might gear a person toward being a Martha instead of a Mary, toward striving instead of serving from overflow? For me it was driven out of a need to please and perform for the approval of others. I had to be the best at what I did...sadly, it didn't matter how much collateral damage there was in the process. Needing approval of others is just the surface of what fuels this kind of behavior. Unworthiness is a nasty beast driving this "striving" and "doing" mentality as well. Maybe if I do my best I can be worthy of love and acceptance. This is placing our value in what we do, not who we are in Christ.

God loves you for you. Period. When we try to "work" for His approval we are in essence saying His grace wasn't enough for us....and how prideful is that?!? Do you think what Jesus did on the cross was enough? The deceiver works overtime to keep us believing the lie we are unworthy. What I am about to say is strong and I don't say it to condemn...but really, when we say we aren't worth the sacrifice Christ made we are calling Him a liar...because, Beloved, He said you were worthy enough for Him to die for. Is your sin so bad that He needs to go back onto the cross and suffer it all again? Of course not....so, why do we live with a cloud of shame and unworthiness? Hopefully we can shed some light on this topic in the future.

Perhaps you have struggled with unworthiness (I haven't met anyone who hasn't at one time, me included.) When we are shrouded in a cloud of unworthiness we believe He couldn't possibly want to spend time with us....so we neglect spending time with Him and our hearts become empty...then we take our empty hearts and try to "serve" Him...which is the pre-cursor to ministry burn out. Which is where we will pick up next time!

In the meantime might I encourage you to seek the Lord if you struggle with the ungodly belief you are unworthy. If you find value in what you do, instead of who Christ's makes you, ask Jesus where the ungodly root is. Start with this prayer or something like it:

"Father God, You created me for relationship with You. To be in Your presence and to serve from a place of presence. I have struggled with striving and have tried to earn Your grace. I confess I have believed the lie I was not worthy and denied Your gift of grace and the work of the cross. Jesus, Your blood makes me worthy. I receive Your robe of righteousness. Father, help me. Show me areas in my heart where there are lies I am believing about how You feel about me. I want to receive everything You have for me. I want to walk in FREEDOM and JOY and serve from the OVERFLOW of my relationship with YOU! Thank You, Papa, You give me only good gifts. Thank You for Your grace. I love You!"

Now turn your eyes toward heaven....listen....He is going to talk to your spirit. Write it down and meditate on what He reveals to you.

Serving from a heart of overflow, hosting His presence which brings the kingdom of heaven to earth makes MY SOUL SING! Lalalalalala, can you hear it singing? Yours can sing too!

If you enjoy reading My Soul Sings please become a follower of this blog and consider sharing it with a friend! Blessings on you!