True_Love 2019-10-01

moreintentionalyouhavetobeabouttaking

careofyourself.ThisiswhyI believethatJesus

oftenwithdrewtoa lonelyplacetobealonewith

GodbecauseHeneededtorefuel.Youhaveto

beintentionalaboutprotectingyourself.IfI lift

weights,I canprobablyhandlefiveto 18 kg.But

whenitreaches 27 kg,ifyouaddanothertwo

kilos,I mightcrumble.Sometimesyou’vehadso

muchweightonyou,youjustcan’thandleone

morething.

SoJesusrestedbythewell.Anda Samaritan

womanwhohadhadfivehusbands,andtheone

she waswith wasn’t herown,comes todraw

water.She isthirsty. ButJesusdoesn’t judge

her,she’sobviouslybeenlookingforloveinall

thewrongfacesandplaces.Jesusknowsshe’s

searching.Sometimespeoplearetooproudto

admitthattheyhavea need.ButtheBiblesays,

“GodwillmeetallyourneedsaccordingtoHis

riches.”Anduntilyouhaveaneed,untilyou’re

empty,untilyoucanbehonestaboutyourlack,

Godcan’tfillyouwithmoreofHim.It’snota

sintobeemptyorinneed,youjusthavetobe

filledupbythe rightthing.And Jesusbegins

to pour into her. He pours in so much that

whenHe’sdone,sherunsbacktothetownand

startsevangelising,talkingtopeople whohad

previouslyshunnedher.TheBiblesays,‘Manyof

theSamaritansfromthattownbelievedinHim

becauseofthewoman’stestimony.’John4:39.

Sowhenyou’retired,learntorest,notquit.

Drinkfromthewellagain,andberefilled.I pray

youbecomea deepwellthatcontainsfreshwater

thatneverrunsdry,butisabletonourishothers

ineveryseason.

Love,PastorP

T

he Bible says

Jesuswastired.

Have you ever

been tired? I

don’tmeanjust

exhausted. You

know the kind

thatsleepcan’tfix,whereyouwake

updrained?

Recently, I’d wake up weary

aftera full night’s sleep. Ibegan

towonderhowapersonwhohad

slept so well, could possibly be

exhausted in the morning and

unable to do anything — even

simple things felt like a chore.

I battled between gratitude for

all my many opportunities, and

disinterest inreceivingonemore

textmessage.Myphonefilledup

with unopenedemails,texts,and

messagesfrompeoplewantingto

meetupforcoffee,orneedingmy

help,financialaid orprayer. And

asmuchasI’mapeople’sperson,

asmuchasit’smydesiretomeet

andhelpeachone,asmuchasit’s

against my nature not to help,I

hadtostopresponding.Itbecame

apparent that if I had to call,

counsel,havecoffeeand prayfor

everyone,oracceptanotherinvite,

Iwouldprobablyexplode.Forso

longI hadprayed,“UsemeLord.”

AndnowI wascomplainingabout

thatprivilege.Theguiltandfeeling

ofingratitudefurtherpiledonthe

pressure I’dput onmyself. I felt

drainedandtotallyspent.

Pastors aren’t expected to get

fatigued.Neitherare mothers,or

fathers.Everyonejustexpectsyou

tobea momora wife,tobea dad,

toprovide,cook,feed,counsel,give

orgotowork.Nooneeverwonders

howyoudoitall;especiallywhen

you’reasinglemother.Yetifyou

keep running and never refuel,

eventuallytheenginewillburnout.

Youmightnotfeelitinitially,but

soonerorlateritcatchesupwith

you.

Thisisnot assimple asbeing

physically worn out. Because

if it was, sleep would cure it.

I’m referring to being mentally,

emotionally and spiritually

exhausted. I know you can be

spirituallywearybecauseGenesis

says,“TheSpiritoftheLordwas

hoveringovertheearth”and“God

createdtheheavensandtheearth,

andontheseventhday,Herested.”

If the Spiritcouldget tired, ifit

could happen to Jesus, then no

matter how strong and spiritual

youare,youknowyoucangetburnt

out too. Jesus said, “Somebody

touchedme,I knowbecausepower

hasgoneoutofme.”It’snotthe 35

minutesI preachfor.It’sthethree

tofivehoursI needtoprepare.It’s

notthemessageI preach,butthe

powerthat’sreleasedwhenI do.

TheBiblesays inJohn 4 that

Jesuswastiredfrom thejourney

andHerestedbythewellwhileHis

discipleswenttotowntobuyfood.

ThattellsmeHewasn’tphysically

tired, because then the disciples

would have been too. Jesus was

tiredfromworking–teaching,and

healing,baptisingandcastingout

demons,andnooneknewit.People

will demand and take without

consideringyou.Givershavetoset

limitsbecausetakersrarelydo.But

thegreateryourresponsibility,the

The greater your responsibility, the more

intentional you have to be about taking

care of yourself.

80 |^ OCTOBER^2019 | WWW.TRUELOVE.CO.ZA

SPIRIT

IMAGE Supplied

Fatigue — be it physical and mental — is

real. When it hits, learn to rest not quit,

says Pastor Pushie!

SPIRIT CORNER

DEEP WELLS