October 19, 2007

This week I discovered the power of a two letter word. It happened about the same time I was telling my friend about the power of backing up in order to go forward.

When I stopped long enough to pay attention to where my emotional center of gravity was, I realized this has been a fairly overwhelming season. Yes, you wonder, what’s new?

The irony of my situation was, that the very resources that I’d brought to my life to enhance my ministry, were the ones that seemed to be wearing down my ministry. At least they felt like the straw that could break a camel’s back.

So I said ‘NO’ to two commitments. One was pretty significant to me. The interesting thing is that within hours of making a decision to withdraw from these two activities in my life, I felt that I had the energy to tackle them. So the question now is, will I, or will I not set permanent boundaries around these parts of my life and ministry?

That issue has yet to be worked through. I’m just claiming God’s wisdom. However, to me the more interesting part of this story is the difference backing away made in my ability to see my way through this situation.

Sometimes the best way forward is to step back.

“The righteous will move onward and forward, and those with pure hearts will become stronger and stronger.” Job 17:9

Rejoicing in hope,
Pastor Steve