Today before church I finished my last 2 lessons. They were quite lengthy and I just didn't complete them on Thursday and Friday like I should have. Lesson 4 was another wake up call. It was over Elijah how God provided for him, how he revealed himself to him and what Elijah went through. What struck me was at the end Beth Moore list some ways "we may loose our joy" Below are the points that stuck out to me.
When our outpour exceeds our intake- "pouring out more than he (Elijah) was pouring in. Are you serving more than you're seeking?"
When our talk exceeds our walk- "We rarely know that exact moment that our output begins to exceed our intake, but a sure sign of lack of fuel is a talk that exceeds our walk." I have been here several times!
When we become "wonders junkies"-"He (Elijah) looked for God in the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, but he did not find Him there...the most intimate times we will spend with God will be listening to his gentle whispers. It is here that we will find true chara (joy, rejoicing)...rarely are you more at risk for losing your joy than when you have just experienced a spiritual high...anytime you've just been on Mount Carmel standing firm against the enemy, you're sitting in a dangerous place-ripe for a fall. Jesus' baptism was followed by temptation. Pray to enjoy those marvelous times, but never more than you enjoy His sweet whisper when you are all alone"
When we're exhausted- "Elijah was exhausted, neglected to eat or rest. Are you neglecting your rest? What about eating?"
When we feel alone- "as we're growing in Christ, beware of feelings that tempt you to believe you are all alone and that no one else wants to serve or love God as you do. Just because someone does not share our "cause" or our personal "passions" does not set us apart." This one was like a slap in the face! Hard! I went through this several times including being prayer coordinator for plugged in, in my journeys to going to Ecuador and Germany. There were times I felt like I was alone in this. That people did not have the passion I did for it. With plugged in especially when we first started the service I was to be "on call" to pray with anyone during the service and also to pray for the leaders, pastor, and people there. We had a prayer area set up to pray. There was a kneeling bench they could use. Nobody ever used it except for me, pastor, Rita, and three others. The majority of the time the area was empty. Why didn't people share my passion for prayer? Why didn't they want me to pray with them? Thoughts like that went through my head several times. When I would come back from Mexico and give a report people were receptive but shot me down when I asked if they'd be interested. "Oh, no that’s not for me. It's right after Christmas and we have to be with our families" I received a lot of those comments. I was so disappointed. Why couldn't these people let God lead them to an awesome adventure. Other churches had teams of 4 or more going and I was the only one from my church. Times like that I felt alone and deserted and that my passion was not their passion.
After reading and doing the lessons I see we're not all made to have the same passion and just like worship we do things in different ways. So, even though hardly anybody came to the prayer center that doesn't mean they weren't praying and even though nobody wanted to go to Mexico that doesn't mean they didn't support me financially or through prayer. For me it was easier to go to Mexico because I just have my parents. I'm not married nor do I have children.
Christmas has become more to me than getting presents. My joy comes from me giving to others by sacrificing things I really don't need.
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