Proverbs 8:12
“I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment.
I know where to discover knowledge and discernment.”
No matter how great our cause, when we push ourselves beyond the limits designed for us by God, we suffer the same results as those who burn out in any other pursuit. Those of us who are classic work-a-holics must learn how to make stress work for us instead of against us.
Here are a few insights learned from experience:
1. Many people don’t know how to handle life any other way than being under a constant blanket of stress. (When our only tool is a hammer, we tend to see every problem as a nail.) You need to acknowledge that stress is like emotional adrenaline to you – which is why you keep creating it and even craving it (as crazy as that sounds).
2. When you sit in a chair and you hear the legs begin to crack, common sense tells you that if you don’t take your weight off of the chair, you’re going to be on the floor pretty quickly with a big thud. Use your common sense to heed the telltale signs of your health cracking and the stress taking over so you don’t begin to crack yourself. When we crack under the pressure, we greatly diminish what we can do for God or anyone else.
3. Learn prudence. The word prudence means “careful management”. A prudent person becomes a better manager of their time, their energy, and their God-given gifts.
4. Identify your stressors. I know a lot of mine, have you identified yours? Change the ones you can, and start accepting the ones you can’t – such as other people. Learn to adapt to any stressor that can’t be changed so that the stress they create motivates you instead of burying you.
5. Most importantly, spend more time with Jesus, who said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
Malachi 3:1-4
1 “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.
2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
Malachi 4:1-6
1 “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the LORD Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. 3 Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things,” says the LORD Almighty.
4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.
5 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
Related Text:
Isaiah 60
Matthew 3:1-12
Matthew 17:10-13
Luke 1:1-17
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Interesting
Malachi is the last of the Old Testament prophets. However, we know nothing of the person of Malachi – all we have as any insight into who he was are the words that he wrote. By these words, we get a sense that he had a dynamic and obedient love for God and faith in God’s plan.
This passage that we read today brings to mind many different topics that we could focus on. For instance: How does God refine you? Do you need refining? What’s your attitude like under pressure? What sort of offerings are you giving up to God?
But what I would like you to spend some time on today is to think about this question. If you were gone and you left behind a journal, or essays about your life, or a video log of your daily activities, or if someone secretly followed you around for a week with a camera, what would any of those things show about your love for and faith in God? What does the paper trail of your life tell about your devotion to our LORD?
Okay, so this clip is some rediculous super hero movie. But hey, if there really was a Waffler, I bet he would definitely show up to Waffle Fest ’09! In fact, I think the rumor is that the Waffler will make an appearance. Must be tough to squeeze in time between all of the crime fighting. Come out to catch a glimpse of Waffler, eat all of the waffles your gut can handle, and have a great time worshiping God, who loves us so much that He gave up His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins! 2 day event, Saturday, October 10, 2009 @ 7pm and Sunday, October 11, 2009 @ 9am. For more information, go to FBC Frisco’s Student Ministry Page. Waffle Fest ’09 is a FREE EVENT!
