Taken from "Spirit of Revival" magazine.
If there is one term that describes the state of affairs in the lives of people today, it is overload. The mere mention of the word triggers a groan within us. Overload reminds us of the weight of everyday life. We are overwhelmed, overworked, overcommitted, overanxious, overmatched, and overextended. Our tanks are on empty, and we’re running on fumes.
Have you ever been in a health club and seen someone sprinting on a treadmill? That’s the mental picture that comes to mind. We’re running as fast as we can to keep from falling off the back, and we desperately need to stop that relentless machine and take a breather. But we can’t seem to find a button that will turn the thing off.
So we keep running. For weeks. Months. Maybe years. And we are running with a huge pack on our backs, full of all the important things in our lives. Things like family, career, and personal goals.
The trouble is that all of the running is beginning to catch up with us. We’re worn out. Exhausted. Even the wisest, healthiest, and most capable among us feel it. There is a collective sense that our personal worlds are spinning out of control, and we despair of ever gaining the upper hand.
See Why We Run
What has brought us to such a state? Why are we living at a pace that we know is too fast? It really comes down to the fact that we have believed three lies about living.
Lie #1: “You can have it all.” No, you can’t! But even if you could, where would you put it? What would you do with it?
Solomon spent his life accumulating everything he could possibly get his hands on. (You can read a personal account of his quest in the first two chapters of Ecclesiastes.) He had homes that would have made it into Architectural Digest. He owned breathtaking vineyards and beautiful wineries. He kept stables of thoroughbred horses. He had wives—seven hundred, to be precise—along with three hundred concubines.
King Solomon really did have it all (1 Kings 10:23). He managed to pull it off. And when he got there, he realized he had been deceived. Having it all simply wasn’t worth the effort. He was left with a handful of ashes:
All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. . . . So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind (Ecclesiastes 2:10, 17). Solomon acquired it all and was still deeply disappointed. After reading his assessment, you may be ready to take a couple of days off!
Lie #2: “You can do it all.” We know instinctively that there’s no way we can do it all. But a quick review of our crowded daily schedules might make an outside observer think we believe otherwise. The frantic pace of our lives is now on display even with our elementary school children.
It is not uncommon for one child to have the following commitments: school (at least eight hours, five days a week), homework (an average of two to three hours per night), piano lessons plus daily practice time, karate lessons, soccer team (one game per week plus five practices). That would be an average schedule for an average American child.
When you multiply that kind of schedule by several family members, it’s easy to see how life starts reeling out of control. The pace multiplies exponentially. When is there time to have dinner together at home? When is there time to take a walk together around the neighborhood? There is no time left for relationships.
Lie #3: “You deserve it all.” If you deserve it all, you are of course going to work 24/7 to make sure you get it. And tragically, when you begin to believe you deserve it all, you will run over anyone that gets in your way.
We’ve been reading too many true-life stories of top executives who drove their companies into bankruptcy while stockpiling millions away for themselves. They showed utter disregard for the shareholders and employees who were financially wiped out in the process. We despise this kind of self-centered behavior; yet the problem also exists closer to home.
For years I have observed a number of men who have left their wives and abandoned their children in pursuit of having it all. I’ve seen the same epidemic spread to more and more women as well. I’ve seen fine Christian men and women become cold and callous toward their families.
What happened? They were living at a breakneck pace. There was very little time for each other or for nurturing their relationship with the Lord. It was go-go-go from early in the morning until late at night. And when their lives got so busy that they had no time for God or His Word, they became vulnerable.
The wrong pace can lead to wrong decisions. Pace is not just a scheduling issue. For the Christian, it’s a life issue.
Deficit Living
Overload is a symptom of deficit living. Overloaded people live in deficit—emotional, relational, or spiritual. When our checking accounts are overdrawn, we experience an adrenal rush that pushes us to find a way to immediately cover that shortfall. But where do you find a surplus when you’re completely out of money?
It’s also possible to get overdrawn in life. We get overdrawn in our marriages, overdrawn with our kids, and disconnected from God. We run out of currency—the emotional and relational “cash” that it takes to live well.
The good news is that God has provided what is needed for life and godliness—an unlimited line of credit in his Word and by his Spirit. But most believers are attempting to live out of the change in our own pockets rather than drawing on God’s resources.
God created us. He designed us with a longing for happiness and love. The problem is that we have searched for satisfaction outside of God’s good and gracious plan.
In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus invited us to overcome overload—not by reading the latest bestselling book or attending a dynamic seminar—but by coming to Him:
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Jesus knew how to live . . . and we don’t. That’s why we’re overloaded. And that’s why Jesus said, “Come to Me.” The very first step in overcoming overload is coming to Him, embracing Him as the sovereign God, and learning from Him.
Have you ever been in a health club and seen someone sprinting on a treadmill? That’s the mental picture that comes to mind. We’re running as fast as we can to keep from falling off the back, and we desperately need to stop that relentless machine and take a breather. But we can’t seem to find a button that will turn the thing off.
So we keep running. For weeks. Months. Maybe years. And we are running with a huge pack on our backs, full of all the important things in our lives. Things like family, career, and personal goals.
The trouble is that all of the running is beginning to catch up with us. We’re worn out. Exhausted. Even the wisest, healthiest, and most capable among us feel it. There is a collective sense that our personal worlds are spinning out of control, and we despair of ever gaining the upper hand.
See Why We Run
What has brought us to such a state? Why are we living at a pace that we know is too fast? It really comes down to the fact that we have believed three lies about living.
Lie #1: “You can have it all.” No, you can’t! But even if you could, where would you put it? What would you do with it?
Solomon spent his life accumulating everything he could possibly get his hands on. (You can read a personal account of his quest in the first two chapters of Ecclesiastes.) He had homes that would have made it into Architectural Digest. He owned breathtaking vineyards and beautiful wineries. He kept stables of thoroughbred horses. He had wives—seven hundred, to be precise—along with three hundred concubines.
King Solomon really did have it all (1 Kings 10:23). He managed to pull it off. And when he got there, he realized he had been deceived. Having it all simply wasn’t worth the effort. He was left with a handful of ashes:
All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. . . . So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind (Ecclesiastes 2:10, 17). Solomon acquired it all and was still deeply disappointed. After reading his assessment, you may be ready to take a couple of days off!
Lie #2: “You can do it all.” We know instinctively that there’s no way we can do it all. But a quick review of our crowded daily schedules might make an outside observer think we believe otherwise. The frantic pace of our lives is now on display even with our elementary school children.
It is not uncommon for one child to have the following commitments: school (at least eight hours, five days a week), homework (an average of two to three hours per night), piano lessons plus daily practice time, karate lessons, soccer team (one game per week plus five practices). That would be an average schedule for an average American child.
When you multiply that kind of schedule by several family members, it’s easy to see how life starts reeling out of control. The pace multiplies exponentially. When is there time to have dinner together at home? When is there time to take a walk together around the neighborhood? There is no time left for relationships.
Lie #3: “You deserve it all.” If you deserve it all, you are of course going to work 24/7 to make sure you get it. And tragically, when you begin to believe you deserve it all, you will run over anyone that gets in your way.
We’ve been reading too many true-life stories of top executives who drove their companies into bankruptcy while stockpiling millions away for themselves. They showed utter disregard for the shareholders and employees who were financially wiped out in the process. We despise this kind of self-centered behavior; yet the problem also exists closer to home.
For years I have observed a number of men who have left their wives and abandoned their children in pursuit of having it all. I’ve seen the same epidemic spread to more and more women as well. I’ve seen fine Christian men and women become cold and callous toward their families.
What happened? They were living at a breakneck pace. There was very little time for each other or for nurturing their relationship with the Lord. It was go-go-go from early in the morning until late at night. And when their lives got so busy that they had no time for God or His Word, they became vulnerable.
The wrong pace can lead to wrong decisions. Pace is not just a scheduling issue. For the Christian, it’s a life issue.
Deficit Living
Overload is a symptom of deficit living. Overloaded people live in deficit—emotional, relational, or spiritual. When our checking accounts are overdrawn, we experience an adrenal rush that pushes us to find a way to immediately cover that shortfall. But where do you find a surplus when you’re completely out of money?
It’s also possible to get overdrawn in life. We get overdrawn in our marriages, overdrawn with our kids, and disconnected from God. We run out of currency—the emotional and relational “cash” that it takes to live well.
The good news is that God has provided what is needed for life and godliness—an unlimited line of credit in his Word and by his Spirit. But most believers are attempting to live out of the change in our own pockets rather than drawing on God’s resources.
God created us. He designed us with a longing for happiness and love. The problem is that we have searched for satisfaction outside of God’s good and gracious plan.
In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus invited us to overcome overload—not by reading the latest bestselling book or attending a dynamic seminar—but by coming to Him:
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Jesus knew how to live . . . and we don’t. That’s why we’re overloaded. And that’s why Jesus said, “Come to Me.” The very first step in overcoming overload is coming to Him, embracing Him as the sovereign God, and learning from Him.
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