Just Breathe By Pastor Shari Stephens 0

Deep breath in.

Deep breath out.

All of us are so busy these days, especially those in ministry.  We have services to attend, messages to prepare, Christian acts to perform and that’s on top of the regular day to day activities of life.  Kids, chores, meals, shopping, bills…work.  Then there are all the things we do for personal gratification like exercise, hobbies, sports, etc.  Again, just stop and breathe.

I want to specifically address all of you in ministry or active in your church life.  You are some of the most committed, diligent, and faithful folks around.  You are there for everything you can be.  You excel at multitasking and take pride in how you balance your full plate, and rightly so, in this world’s thinking.  There is the thought process of God to consider, however.

Jesus had the weight of humanity on his shoulders.  Along with that, He had to share God’s word, build a church and influence His chosen leaders.  They had to be able to carry on His work for centuries to come.  What’s most important was He only had 3.5 years to actively do it!

I am struck with the thought of how modern Christian leaders would have attempted to do this.  Most would say right out of the door, “it’s impossible, I’ve been working with my leaders for years and they still are getting it.”

Others might pack their schedules with everything imaginable to try and make things happen but let’s look at what Christ did.

He breathed.  He walked and talked.  He sat and ate.  He visited. He laughed.  He shared.  He slept.

In other words, none of us have ever pictured Christ as a frantic man on a mission, trying to do everything and reach everyone.  He took his time.  He stopped when necessary.  He would alter his path for a lost soul.  He sat and told stories.  He breathed.

It the intensity of his mission and ministry he managed to live.  The Bible tells us in Hebrews 10:12,

“But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,”

In other words, He completed what He was sent to do.  We can be confident in the completion of His ministry.  So, let’s look at His pattern to teach us how we ought to live.

On His way to Jairus’ house, He stopped for the woman with the issue of blood. Luke 8:41-56

On His way back to Galilee, He stopped off in Samaria to meet the woman by the well. John 4

On His way passing through Jericho, He stopped and stayed at Zacchaeus’ house and salvation came to his home. Luke 19:1-10.

What am I trying to say?  During all our ministry, we need to be sensitive to God’s true ministry.  We must acknowledge there are things we do because of our traditions, religion or denominations that we feel compelled to do. We must, more importantly, be able to acknowledge, those moments when the plan changes, the schedule shifts because God is calling.  The times we need to spend the afternoon at a friend’s home. The time we must stop and spend hours explaining the mysteries of God to just one person.  The moments when we realize our children need us more today or our spouse is hurting and needs our personal attention.

Most importantly, there are all the times we need for ourselves.  Times when we need to just stop and breathe.