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“Can I really handle more than this?”

As I write this first entry for the Canyon Ridge Online Journal, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.

I know what you’re thinking: “You’re a Pastor.  You should never feel that way.”  There’s a large part of me that would totally agree with you, but that’s how I feel nonetheless.  I struggle tremendously with carrying burdens that… well, to be honest, Jesus has promised to carry already.

As of this writing:

- Canyon Ridge is preparing for a Revival/Bible Conference that starts tomorrow–a great spiritual burden for every Pastor.

- Our church votes tomorrow on whether to purchase a piece or property for three million dollars.  Another church currently occupies the property and they’ll vote Sunday on whether to let us buy it.

- We’re totally revamping our follow-up in a effort to reach more people for Jesus.

-  One of our young men–one of the most amazing teenagers you’ll ever meet–just started chemotherapy. He’ll undergo 48 treatments, and for each he’ll be hospitalized a minimum of three days.  He’ll have at least two surgeries.  At best, he’ll miss his entire freshmen year of high school.  We both share a love for basketball, and it pains me that he can’t play the sport he loves.

- Did I mention we need three million dollars?

Now the above is a list of burdens that apply to me solely as a Pastor.  I didn’t mention the conflicts I face as a husband, father, friend, student, son, brother, employer, and American citizen.

If the burden of Jesus Christ is light (and it is), how then do I deal with all this?  The Bible is clear, and it all comes down to this: Who do you trust?

Psalm 118:8-9:  It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.  It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.

The burden is light when I honestly allow God show Himself mighty through our revival, building votes, sicknesses, and other conflicts.

We often hear, “God will not give you more than you can handle.”  That is a true statement.  The only way we can handle things well is to take our burdens to the Lord, trusting Him to carry the load.  The simple truth is this: He will carry the load. When I read …than to put confidence in man,” I often read it this way: “…than to put confidence in other men.”  Unfortunately, my greatest struggle is not with what others can do for me, but rather what I can do for myself.   It is in my nature to be self-sufficient and independent, when God wants us to be self-deficient and God-dependent.

This is my prayer for the coming week:

“Lord I pray for our church family–that we will honestly trust you enough to turn our burdens over to You.  Will you gently remind us when we start to carry the burden that You have allowed in our lives to show Yourself mighty, to bring honor to Yourself.  Thank you for being good to us.

Lord–just a reminder–we need three million dollars!”

Pastor Chris Chadwick

Tags: 118, Building, In, Lord, Psalm, The, Trust, vote

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 28th, 2009 at 2:28 am and is filed under Pastor's Perspective. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.