XP God: Are You Tired?

Luke 10:38-41 (NIV)
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!""Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried 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."

My Realisation that "I Am Tired"
I am tried... yes, I have to admit that as I was going through devotion last week, I have come to realise that my life is filled with so many things; appointments, to-dos, meetings, trainings, planning etc that I am beginning to feel drained.

And what came out during my devotion last week came as a timely reminder from the Lord as I focused on the topic of simplicity throughout the week. And as if to reinforce the reminder, a recent sms conversation with a friend further emphasized how I needed to do something about this.

A few weeks back, one of my friends asked to meet up, since it has been ages since we last met each other. My natural response was to take out my diary and after looking through my diary, I messaged him back "let's meet on 8 August" - the day this conversation took place was 8 July. Well, no choice, that was the next available date I have given all the things I had to go and attend to and the dates I had to set aside for other things.

Not surprisingly, my friend responded something to the effect "Wow, you very busy hor? have to wait one month to meet up with you!" The sms initially made me chuckle but then made me realised how there is truth in it as well and I was indeed "very busy".

Does this seem familiar? Or maybe you have yet to come to the same stage as me but is well on the way there.

The Desire to Simplify our Lives
In an observation in my devotion last week, the author commented how we have all become "anxious, overwhelmed, overworked... and the more we fill our lives with time saving devices and time saving strategies, the more rushed we feel...".

In another observation, he confidently mentioned that whenever people ask us "Hi how are you?", our response would be something like "Oh, doing fine la, just busy, busy busy. You know packed schedules, lots of meetings, people to see, places to go".

Are you tired? Maybe, some of us has come to the stage where we are so tired, we want to just simplify our lives. And the bible seems to have lots of suggestions how we can do just that. I have learnt that:

The Need to See the Eventuality of Life (Setting Things in Perspective)
"Imagine for a moment that your physician announced that you had only six months to live. Close your eyes for sixty seconds, put yourself in that position, and wait for the thouthgs and feelings to arise. Among other things, I bet your perspective changed and your values shifted... the notion that your earthly life has a definite end gives you perspective and a sense of urgency about the things that matter most".

Romans 13: 11-14 (NIV)
¹¹And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹²The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. ¹⁴Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Without eternal perspective, we seem to be still asleep, living each day as it is and living to help ourselves make our lives on earth better. Well, nothing wrong with that but then we are reminded that we have life beyond death as well and what are we doing about it? Paul asked us to wake up and live each day clothed with the Lord Jesus as we live righteously. That is what God desires, that He "did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life" (1 Thessolonians 4:7) and to "be holy and blameless in his sight" (Ephesians 1:4).

Today is the only day guaranteed to you, yesterday is over and tomorrow may never come...

If there are anything which we have yet to repent of, ask God to help you identify these which may stand in your way of drawing to Him and experiencing His love, grace, mercy, plans and power in your life.
The Need for Focus on the Inner (Ask: Am I Focusing on the Right Things?)
"We often get it backwards by attempting to start on the outside and moving inwards. Sometimes we can start by giving up certain behaviours and responsibilities, but ultimately its an illusion to think we can surrender possessions, wealth, or even a busy schedule without also having an inner change... simplicity begins by having a single purpose in life... when you stray away from God, you get caught up in the world's system and lose sight of your main purpose" which is to love God and His people (see the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-31).

Matthew 6:19-21¹⁹"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Science and psychology has shown that a person's inner world is real and can have great impact on our lives. We act based on what is happening on our inner worlds. So in our inner worlds, where do we focus? Do we focus on the eternal or do we focus on things of the world to quench our thirst at the depth of our souls?

Do we "expend much of our emotional and physcial energy buying things we don't necessarily need, with money we certainly don't have, in order to impress people that we don't even like" in this world system of 3"i"s that speaks of "increasing your possessions, impressing others and indulging youself"?

What is your purpose, what is your priorities, definition of success, perspective of life?
The Need to Guard Against the Enemy's Tactics / Refute the Enemy's Lies (Ask: Am I Duped?)
"Someone once asked billionaire Nelson Rockefeller how much money it would take to satisfy a man. His answer: 'Just a little bit more!'... Perhaps one of the most powerful lies of Satan is the notion that something outside ourselves (money, possessions) can fill the thirst deep within".

What brings us joy and happiness? Is it the tangible? well, I don't doubt, to a certain extent. But then, ultimately, the intangible given by God gives us meaning and purpose in life. It only goes to show we are not made to live life as mere creature comfort chasers.

Thank God for all the non-material possesions that we have: our life, our health, our senses, our giftings, skills, talents, nature and the world around us, friendships and love from relationships, our salvation from the Lord and many others. Begin with a heart of thanksgiving to see what God has placed in your life.

1 Thessolonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
¹⁶Be joyful always; ¹⁷pray continually; ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Want to be joyful? Start by giving thanks for all the things God has given you. God wants us to remember lest we forget of His love, grace, mercies and blessings just as the Israelite forgotten how He had delivered them, much like us.

At two places in the early parts of the bible, we see how God knows we are forgetful people and wants us to be reminded of what He did for us so we will not stary away from Him

Exodus 16:32 (NIV) - After God gives manna to the Israellites in the wilderness...
³² Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.' "

Joshua 4:20-24 (NIV) - After God held the Jordan River so the Israllites can cross...
²⁰ And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. ²¹ He said to the Israelites, "In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, 'What do these stones mean?' ²² tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' ²³ For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. ²⁴ He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God."

So, God is always present in your life, we just have to be more God-aware and refute the lies of the enemy that God cannot satisfy us and we only need material possessions to make us happy; that God cannot satisfy us.

For me, another area which I have found the enemy working is in the area of self-esteem. For many years, I have low self-esteem and I relied on others' affirmation of me to make myself feel good. I felt I was not good enough and worked hard to earn my affirmation. Well, the story went that I became burnt out and started to see how I was in a state I cannot save myself anymore and this is when I let God come into the picture to restore me. Well, my "homecoming" testimony in a nutshell.

Sometimes, the devil do also use negative self-talk to distract us. "You are not worthy", "you are insignificant" etc and the result is that we get more and more distracted from seeking God because we need to validate ourselves and start to rely on external sources to do so. For some of us, it might be work, for some of us, it might be ministry or even for some of us, both... There is nothing wrong with work and ministry but then, just that it can be a distraction for us, making us so so drained we put seeking God a second priority.

"God, I am tired and maybe I will miss church service just this once" or "God, I am exhausted today with ministry so I will rest my body and skip quiet time perhaps just this once". Soon we drift further and further away.

Yes, God do call us to work and ministry but then if it is taking you away from seeking God and growing your love for both Him and His people, then, most probably it is a smoke screen.

You are worthy and God loves you, each and every one of you.

John 3:16 (NIV) - What God did for us in love
¹⁶"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Ephesians 1:4-6 (NIV) - We are adopted as His children
... In love ⁵he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Jeremiah 31:3ff (NIV) - Despite Israel's continued disobedience, God still love them
... "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. ⁴ I will build you up again..."

and there are tonnes of other bible references which shows God's love for us.

So we need to know our identity in Christ and refute the enemy's lies and counter the enemy's strategies. Jesus, when He was tempted at the start of His ministry by the devil, knew this and countered with 3 strong words "it is written..." (see Matthew 4). He knew the word of God and the tactics of the devil in wanting to throw Him off His feet. In the same way, the devil will try all ways, including using smoke screens, to distract us from drawing to God.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NIV)
⁴The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
The Need to Trust in the Lord (Learn to Trust in God)
By this time, if you have been more God-aware, it would be not difficult to trust in the Lord because you will see Him at work in your life and will believe that whatever happens, He is always there. And verses such as Hebrews 13:5-6 will just resonates in your heart:

Hebrews 13:5-6 (NIV)
"God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." ⁶So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

Proverbs 3:5-6
⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Yes, the bible did say, lean not on your own understanding because sometimes, we may never understand why we are put in certain situations. But we need to know that "God is at work in your life and that He has grand purposes for you. Recognize that God is sovereign and ultimately in control of all things. Have confidence that God is even involved in the situations that seem to be difficult or negative... He is intimately involved with you and aware of every details of your life, working everything out according to His purpose".

Romans 8:28 (NIV)
²⁸And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Yes, for some of us, trusting in the Lord comes naturally but yet for some of us, trust in the Lord comes whenever we can no longer handle things and just "let go and let God". Just like in Luke 8, Jesus and His disciples went on a boat to the other side of the lake and was hit by a storm. Even though with Jesus on board, the disciples panicked (well, I would do the same too if I was there). But Jesus asks in Luke 8:25 "Where is your faith?". For some of us, we come into an encounter to trust God during a storm and when we realised we can no longer handle it ourselves.

"Don't you hate it when you lose your keys? Just as I (Sam) was walking out the door the other day, I realized I didn't have them. I was going to be late to an important meeting. I had things to do and people to see. But I couldn't even leave my house without my key: keys to my car, keys to my office, keys to my files. I was paralyzed and helpess without them. All of a sudden my fast-paced world came to a screeching halt. I had to immediately align my priorities, and I was consumed with my task - to find my keys. It seems a simple task- to find my otherwise insignificant and unappreciated keys-but it became an essential and mandatory part of my day".

Sometimes, we treat God like the keys. But unlike keys, God is significant but still we overlook, do not appreciate and sometimes even taken God for granted. But in times, of crisis, we just have to refocus our priorities to recognise we can no longer deal with it alone.

Sometimes, it takes a crisis but sometimes, it also takes a community to help us to trust in the Lord. For me, I have come to realise the power of community as each week, we come together to do life as a cell and allowing God to minister to us through one another. It is also powerful to see how God is at work in each and others' life and sometimes, when I am going through a tough week but hears how God is real in anothers' life or even help another to overcome difficulty, it makes me so much more say "God, I know you are real. Come and work in my life and help me through this situation". And the amazing thing is that, all these are working even though we do not necessarily see them.
The Need to Make the Decision (Seek God First)
Just like in the beginning of the article, we started with the account of Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary, we shall conclude also with this passage and look at the truths.

The passage gives us insight into a sharp contrast between that of Martha and Mary. Despite opening the house to Jesus, Martha became busy and distracted with the preparation in the kitchen while Mary sat at the feet of Jesus to listen to Him. Sure enough, we can justify to say that Martha would like to honour Jesus but here Jesus shows us that all we need it sometimes to learn to sit at His feet and listen to His words. We can be like Martha, opening our hearts to God and allowing Him to come in, but yet allowing the distractions of the world to pull us away. Jesus saw the opportunity to teach Martha that we need not worry but first seek Him and all else will fall in place.

Matthew 6:24 (NIV)
²⁴"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Matthew 6:31-33 (NIV)
³¹So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Make the choice to choose to sit at the feet of Jesus and be still to know that as we seek Him and His kingdom and His righteousness, things are in His hands. Don't just slow down but choose to sit at His feet.

But I know at times, fear will grip you again and concerns and doubts and worries will come again. And that is where the need to guard against the enemy comes again and to see God at work in your life and to trust Him.