Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. 2 I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me. 3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. Ps 57:1-3 (KJV)
Beloved, what a wonderful God we serve. A God answering prayer; Solution provider; The Ark that breaks the boat; He is indeed a Powerful God. In His Word, He asked, is there anything too difficult for Me to do? Therefore, if we serve a God with no Impossibility, why should we be afraid or worry about the wicked and their deeds? The devil can prowl but by the grace of God, he can never consume the children of God.
Beloved, when last do you see yourself happy and heartily? Laughing and rejoicing with people around you? Have you been joyous of recent? What constitute your joyful moment? Too many questions I supposed you will be saying, sorry about that. We just want to establish some facts to help us, to put some checks in place? What check? Someone wants to know.
Do you know when you are maxed out? What are the signs and what are you supposed to do when you notice such? Probable you don’t even know when or what make you feel maxed out? Come along us as we share some truth from the message below:
When You Are Maxed Out
You know you are maxed out when you:
1. Can’t Relax
If this is true, then guard your family time against all but life-and-death interruptions.
2. Can’t Say No
Are you responding to the urgent rather than the important? Are the “squeaky wheels” deterring you from investing in people who will count for the future? Count for the Kingdom?
3. Can’t Take A Day Off
When you find it difficult to take at least a day off a week, could it be that you are need-driven rather than God-driven?
4. Find Little Joy In Family Life
If you are emotionally absent from the family, you can be sure that it will prove destructive in terms of unsatisfying family relationships. Your wife will be critical about your work, feeling you are not giving her quality (and quantity) time and attention.
5. Think It’s All Up To You
Here, you are taking on your shoulders that which is God’s responsibility. A friend of mine with an “A” type personality used to say that periodically he had to resign as “Chancellor of the Universe”. Do you need to do the same?
6. Find It Hard To Let Your Hair Down
We all need relationships where we can let our hair down. Perhaps this means being vulnerable. Sometimes it simply means just having fun. Beware of believing the lie that says time spent in fun is wasted time.
7. Can’t Take Vacation Time
Extended vacations are a must, along with occasional briefer times away. If your work or ministry-load prohibits such breaks, then you are failing to delegate as much as you should.
Keep in mind that “Your enemy the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.“(1 Peter 5:7). In the “maxed out syndrome my beloved, there is a solution for them that fear the Lord and accepted Jesus as their personal Savior.
The children of God can never be a mixed meat for the devil. Never! To guide against what we discussed above, we must have the “Joy of Christ” in our heart flowing like a river. Joy unlimited; full of glory! When this joy is deposited inside of you, its benefit is uncountable. Come and see for yourself:
“Now I am coming to You, and I speak these things in the world
so that they may have My joy completed in them.”—John 17:13
If there is anything that ought to characterize the life of a Christian, it is joy! Jesus spoke many times to His disciples about His joy being complete and full in them. His disciples were filled with joy as they realized who they were: children of God and joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:16–17). They had been dead in their sins but were now made alive in Christ (Rom. 6:4). They had once been helpless victims of death, but now death had no hold over them (1 Cor. 15:55–58). With such a marvelous salvation experience with Christ, how could the disciples be anything less than joyful?
Don’t deny yourself that which is your birthright as a child of God. Don’t be satisfied with a joyless life. There ought to be in every Christian a deep, settled fullness of the joy of Christ that no circumstance of life can dispel. This comes as you allow the Holy Spirit to express Himself in your life. One of the fruits of the Spirit is joy (Gal. 5:22). This joy is unlike any happiness that is produced by the world. It fills you and permeates everything you do.
Jesus did not pray that you would merely be happy or even that you would escape grief. He prayed that you would have the same joy that the Father had given Him: a divine joy, a joy that comes from a deep and unwavering relationship with the Father. It is a joy that is grounded so firmly in a relationship with God that no change in circumstances could ever shake it. This is the kind of joy that Christ is praying will be in you.
Is this possible with you or will circumstance of life affects your relationship with your Maker? I guess you have to answer this personal and share with us if you don’t mind what you think.
Finally, this joy is only meant for those who have accepted Christ as their Lord. In case you want to do it right now please click here to be Born Again right away and you will have no regret at all.
Rejoice and be glad in the Lord. Again I say rejoice!
Remain blessed in the Lord.
Evang. Ifeoma Ohondu.
