Under a Tree – 3

                                                                        Under a Tree – 3

Subject – Doing More but Enjoying It Less

By Rick Welborne

1 Kings 19:3-8 (NLT2)
³  Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.
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!”
⁶  He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.
⁷  Then the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”
⁸  So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. 

--Maybe it is just my imagination but it seems like more and more of my conversations with friends and church people are spent on weariness, over commitment, and just being border line ready to quit.

--When you run into someone you know and you just ask a simple question like…What is going on with you these days? I am way too busy…I am on the edge of burnout…I am doing way too much.

--An old cigarette commercial sums up where we appear to be in our lives. Smoking more and enjoying it less. Many of us are doing more and more and enjoying it less. 

--I love when you ask one of our retired couples in the church about getting together and they have to pull out their cell phone and look at their planner. They are retired!

--We are talking about responsible, faithful, dedicated people wanting to use their gifts and talents for God doing more and more and feeling the stress. Not able to say no it seems. 

--So what is the result of this pushing and pushing and going and going? Doing more and enjoying it less?

1. We deal with inner weariness. 

--This is not just an older person problem…I see young parents running to and fro on the earth taking kids to multiple sports events and art events. They try to keep it all together but feel rattled. 

--I see passionate young missionaries traveling 20 and 30,000 miles itinerating to raise their budgets, sleeping in hotels, dragging little children with them…looking absolutely worn out. We have to do it!

--It is not necessarily our bodies (though it affects our bodies) but it is a weariness within. It shows up in exhaustion, weariness, and an increasing loss of passion. 

--There are so many manifestations of inner weariness…we can get sloppy with our work, we can have more conflicts with people, and we can just live in a state of irritability. But there is another danger more serious.

--When we are fighting inner weariness we become vulnerable to the enemy. He can attack our minds, our flesh, and our spirits. Temptation is magnified. 

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NKJV)
³  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
⁴  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
⁵  casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

--Hear your pastor…one of the most difficult times to take captive our thoughts is when we are weary in our spirits. Satan knows this and attacks us viciously. Book…Springs in the Valley by Lettie Cowman.

--In the deep jungles of Africa a traveler was making a long trek so he hired Coolies from a tribe to carry the load. The first day they marched fast and went far. The traveler thought this was great.

--The next morning the Coolies refused to move. They just sat there and rested. The traveler wanted to know what the deal was and he was informed they had gone too fast the first day. 

Coolies - We are waiting for our souls to catch up with our bodies. 

Cowman – This whirling rushing life which so many of us live does for us what that first march did for those poor jungle tribesmen. The difference: they knew what they needed to restore life’s balance; we do not. 

--We have all had our list of commitments and obligations grow and grow (all good things) and many do not know when enough is enough. I have warned our pastors about once a month commitments. 

--The good news about being this busy is having so many opportunities to use our gifts and skills for God. The bad news is the increasing amount of fatigue and frustration in our spirits.

Isaiah 40:29-31 (NKJV)
²⁹  He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.
³⁰  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,
³¹  But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. 

2. There is always one more thing to do.

--I constantly pray that nothing will happen in my week to interrupt what I already have to get done without having a major sense of dis-ease about things still undone. Notice the two words – dis-ease and disease. 

MacDonald – Anyone who has given themselves to the leading, caring, or developing of people knows that there is always one more thing that could be done or done better and more completely.

--I am so glad (at least now) that the first twelve years of ministry for me, I had to work full-time employment somewhere else. Why? So I can relate to lay people in the church who feel overwhelmed.

--For this lay person who works full time, and also decides to be involved in church ministry, it would seem that there is a relentless barrage of good things to be involved in. 

--I can remember being in school fulltime, working at UPS 25 hours a week, doing maintenance at our apartment complex, teaching tennis in the evenings, studying, and oh, yes, being the youth pastor. 

--We had an activity every week for the kids in the youth group and there were still parents who said…You guys are not spending enough time with our kids. 

--What do you think our volunteers do who have full time jobs and they show up week after week to minister wherever God has placed them. We need more to help carry the load.  

--Before you all quit the ministries you are involved in, let me clarify something. Don’t quit what God has called you to do but prioritize the things you commit yourselves to.

--I also believe we can become weary from information overload coming at us from multiple directions. One more post to read, one tweet, one messenger message, one email, one text, one voicemail – remember those?

--We are constantly bombarded with causes…good causes every day. I get several calls or contacts every week with ministries needing help and support. Not just A/G but many who want our support. 

--On TV little doggies who need help, wounded warriors, Folds of Honor. Remember a time when church was just a few basic programs along with Sunday Morning worship. One more thing: Listen to David:

Psalm 27:4 (NKJV)
⁴  One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple. 

--David did not have the Internet, social media, or conferences to deal with but he did have people trying to kill him…that would be stressful. 

--David chose in the middle of his mess that one thing and only one thing was important, that was seeking God’s face with all his heart. Finding a place safe from all his enemies and distractions. 

--What about us? We keep choosing one more thing and then, another, until we become so weary and tired doing more and enjoying it less. I remember the pastor…Don’t let these people kill you like they did me.

3. A gentle fountain or a fire hydrant.

--Let me give this illustration of the un-relentless flow of good things to do as a person trying to drink from a fire hydrant that is turned on full blast.

--He would say…A little bit of water from a gentle fountain can go a long way but put your mouth in front of a flowing hydrant, and things can get dangerous. What could have brought refreshment can also bring injury.

--Years ago one of my pastors came in my office and told me that he could not keep up with the pace he was going. I am tired and I am on the edge of burnout. Who put all this on you? You!

Psalm 23:1-3 (NIV)
¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
²  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
³  he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 

MacDonald – As our eyes are drawn more and more to the events and data of the public world even if it is Christian, the private world, the heart, becomes increasingly starved for attention and inner maintenance. More time for activity means less time for devotion. Doing more for God may mean less time with God. 

--We have substituted praying with talking, seeking God with seeking counseling. Though these things are good, they may not be the best. We have much output but no input in our lives. 

--As we continue to hear more of us speak of being tired and burned out, shouldn’t we evaluate. Maybe we should take a step back and look at Jesus…he was not a jet setter like many are today. 

--Think about it, when Jesus went from town to town, He went on foot or in a boat. He had long hours of quietness on the boat or as he walked across the countryside. 

J.B. Phillips – It is refreshing to study the poise and quietness of Christ. His task and responsibility might well have driven a man out of his mind. But He was never in a hurry, never impressed by numbers, never a slave of the clock. He was acting, He said, as He observed God to act---never in a hurry. 

--I can’t stay under this tree…I must slow down and encounter God.