For about eighteen months my son has been taking Karate at a local Dojo near our home. I have enjoyed seeing Landon go from zero-knowledge when he began to an advanced-green belt who has been trained in both offensive and defensive punches, kicks, blocks and forms. The instructors there are tremendous and Landon has enthusiastically stuck with it and picked up some helpful skills. Last week his instructors spent time with the students going over some challenging moves which serve to break the hold of an attack from the rear that seeks to place a choke-hold upon them. I will spare you the details but it involves elbows to ribs, knees to groins and chops to throats. Put into motion by those who know what they are doing it certainly appears to be an effective series of moves to protect one’s air supply. I want to apply this maneuver to a need in our lives that I began to address in two posts from last week.
Satan wants to suffocate you. Cutting you off from the invigorating breath of the Holy Spirit, he designs to bring you down gasping for air. Whatever he can facilitate to cause discouragement, weariness, fatalism and fatigue in your journey of faith is Satan’s aim. The particular area I want to expose involves him cutting you off from your position of power and influence for the glory of Christ. He wants to keep you away from the arena of your strengths and shackle you to your personal deficiencies. Here is one method he employs: investing your time in unproductive endeavors.
You are not effective at everything. You were not designed by God to be all-sufficient or perfectly rounded to meet all needs via personal excellence. Additionally, not only is your ability limited but you are only equipped with 24 hours each day. Six to eight of those hours should be spent sleeping. Of the remaining hours allotted to you there is a need to invest wisely. You can either invest in places of struggle, toil and tedium or you can invest in ways that prove productive, rewarding and helpful. It is my observation that nobody hands us an easily-appropriated opportunity to live happily in this second category. We have to want it. We have to prioritize it. We have to pursue it. When we do not, the entirety of our lives can take on a grayness and heaviness that can seem never ending. This is how the enemy wishes for you to live. When this reality finds us we accomplish two things consistent with Satan’s strategy: we are unfruitful outwardly and discontent inwardly. It may sound somewhat abrasive but let me say that, when we live like this, we are wasting our lives.
Here are some steps I have employed and am constantly seeking to solidify in my own life. Because I do not believe anyone else will accomplish this on my behalf, I have taken humble ownership of my need to pursue a life which maximizes the strengths God has entrusted to me. Please do not dismiss that as an arrogant notion; would it be better if I chose to do nothing and defaulted to living my life in the arena of my weaknesses? Of course not, and since a choice between the two needs to be made, I select an approach that leads to outward fruitfulness and inward contentment. These steps are far from being a cure-all but they may help some of you who are ready for change:
Learn to say no. You are not the Savior. You need to stop pretending that you are that essential. Say no where you can. This provides opportunity for the next step which is…
Figure out your irreducible minimum. What is the one thing that you simply cannot fail at? How many lesser things are keeping you from your main thing – what are they and what are you doing to address them? Superman & Wonder Woman are FICTIONAL. Your irreducible minimum is where God’s plan for you is housed. Identify it and maximize your efforts in that direction.
Learn to live with others being disappointed in you and misunderstanding you. You will not be able to please God while giving inordinate focus to ensuring others are happy. The approval of others is a luxury you must learn to live without.
It sounds trite at times but it is nonetheless true: find 1 or 2 things to commit to and tenaciously go after them. If you are going after 9-10 things then you are not living in excellence regarding anything. Being overstretched is a recipe for mediocrity at best and disaster at worst. Choosing 1-2 primary pursuits for yourself involves some discomfort at first but…not doing so leaves you in a constant state of discomfort and it is high time that this came to an end for you.
Life is too short for you to spend any more of it gasping for precious air. It really is time that you cooperate with God’s offer to break the enemy’s choke-hold. You will not regret it.
It is no suprise that women responded to this blog! Permission to say no to lesser tasks is as ancient a need for women as Martha in the kitchen with Mary at Jesus’feet.
My irreducible minimum is two things: being supportive with guidance and loving my family and helping very desperate women find safe lives with God.
However, I can pretend to wear a cape in my minimum as well. I love that you emphasized “you were not designed by God to be all sufficient.” I am, in fact, rebelling against God when I attempt to be a person’s Savior.
A seasoned woman told me yesterday to let illness be my teacher and gift. When I am sick, I have little to offer, and it teaches me to drop the cape and teaches others to depend on God who never gets sick or inconsistent!
Leaning to be stronger in my faith so I will not be weak in the “evil one’s” eye. I still have a way to go but have come so far.
WOW, this hit it on the nail head….
“Learn to live with others being disappointed in you and misunderstanding you. You will not be able to please God while giving inordinate focus to ensuring others are happy. The approval of others is a luxury you must learn to live without.”
Learning this took some time and I struggled with this big bad time.
Thank you so much for this today. The Holy Spirit knew I needed this. I’m hoping to come to your church soon to visit. 🙂 have a blessed day Pastor.
Thank you Jeff. Just in the past few days I have had to say NO to a couple of close friends because of family plans and not the best health for my age. Like you said, we have to know our priorities or wind up doing nothing well. By the way, Wednesday nights at church have become a true blessing!!!