So I've mentioned that I follow www.upperroom.org/daily. I also follow a daily Bible verse thing on Twitter--sometimes that Upper Room devotion doesn't really connect with me that day, and the daily verse does. Today was one of those days. So the daily verse via Twitter:
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)
I saw this passage a bit differently this morning, since in the midst of my latest "get these books read before July 1" phase, I've recently finished Anne Jackson's Mad Church Disease. So I thought, this morning, of how this passage can be read at different times of one's ministry. And how so often, burnout comes precisely when our hope begins to shift from God to ourselves, or our ministries, etc.
The thing is, none of us have the skills or energy to complete all the tasks on our plate or meet all the needs around us. Some people seem to make a good go of it for a while, but eventually they hit a wall. I think one of the steepest learning curves for people entering ministry is adjusting to the difference between what you think you ought to be able to accomplish (not to mention what other people think you ought to be able to accomplish) and what you can, in fact, actually accomplish. At least with any quality.
When we remember, though, that our hope is in God, we are freed to enjoy this life that we have. When the weight of the world is rightly placed in God, and not our own shoulders, we are not only reminded of our own need for a bit (or rather a lot) of humility, but we also experience the grace of being a child of God.
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