The following excerpt was extracted with permission from David Murray’s book Reset, Faithful Editor.
In one of the few moments of intimacy, which I managed to catch in the storm that was the first night in the hospital, I took a daily devotional book next to my bed and opened it on the day of the day, to find meditations on the following verses:
- In the midst of tribulation.
- I called upon the Lord.
- And the Lord listened to me and gave me time (Salt 118.
- 5).
It has been good for me to have gone through affliction to know your decrees (Psalm 119:71).
These two themes, gratitude to God for gracefully freeing me and a desire to learn from this trauma, remained with me for the next few days. The main lesson was painfully clear: “God has cast me out. “
It was my immediate and instinctive understanding of why the Lord had sent these blood clots to my leg and lungs. Three weeks and two complications later, I was increasingly convinced that God had been chasing me for several months, with a loving arrow behind me. more loving arrows, till I got into the dust. Until a year earlier, he had lived a life more or less
us healthy and vigorous. At almost two metres high and eighty-five kilos in weight, it was on the light side of the average, but the work and ministry had eliminated all regular daily exercise, and had done so in recent years. The record has increased dramatically with two other health problems, one of which resulted in major (and very painful) surgery three months earlier. I also had a near-terrifying accident on my way back from a trip and my car skated on the black ice, got off the road and ended up in a dump, did these steps stop me?
Not for much longer. That is why clots were needed. And God’s message, through my blood, was: “Stop !?
My life and ministry had accelerated more and more in recent years. It was all good things: he lectured, he preached sermons, he counseled, he spoke in lectures, he wrote books, he raised four children (now five), and so on. Was it at the expense of tranquility and rest? Physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual rest. Hadn’t the means of grace been neglected?But they were too routine, with little or no joy. Life had become a restless chaos full of ministerial duties and opportunities. Sleep, exercise, peace, relaxation, good food, friendship, meditation and communion with God have been sacrificed for more “productive” activities. Has there been little or no time to sit down and know that I am God?( Salt 46,10).
But now, in forced stillness, I have heard a loving and kind God say, “Give me, my son, your heart?”(P 23. 26). Not your sermons, not your lectures, not your blogs, not your books, not your meetings, but your heart. You’re not going to do that!
He was not totally deaf to God’s previous calls and interventions; I had heard it and intended to respond completely. My plan was to spend the months of March and April fully full of commitments, then use about four weeks on my calendar to improve my fitness, return to healthier sleep habits, have more time to rest, get closer to God and renew friendships that faded. That was my plan, it was about to work. I had finished a long series of lectures and sat in the chair to begin the planned awakening of my soul. Thirty minutes later, I was in the hospital. The planner had removed my plan from the table.
Why should I write it all down: Why not learn from him in particular?I believe that God has given me these experiences not only to teach me, but also to help others who are short or about to fail. Ever since I started talking to so many Christians about this at various conferences. , have I found countless others who had suffered breakdowns or breakdowns of one type or another?some were physical like mine, but others were mental or relational breakdowns, while others were emotional or moral failures. Some of these men were not yet collapsing, but they were concerned about the huge warning signs of their lives, wanting to do something to prevent a disaster from occurring. One pastor said: “My ministry had become a heartless shell, a matter of endless duties, without the slightest joy. Every Sunday I said real things to God’s people, good things, but they were no longer things I was experiencing personally, were they just part of my job?
Regardless of the differences, the person, the problems, the stage of stress or exhaustion, everyone noticed that they lived too fast and needed to reconfigure their own lives. They wanted the grace of the gospel to be better reflected in their lives. pace of life They wanted greater joy in the service of the gospel.
This encouraged me to start developing an informal program that I now call the restart process. I’ve used it with countless men, and now, through this book, I want to help you redefine your life so you can avoid collisions or recover from them. , defining patterns and rhythms that will help you live a life that will change your life and lead you to the finish line with success and joy
It is not easy for most of us, we are independent and self-sufficient men, who have a hard time admitting our weaknesses, seeking help and changing dependence so ingrained in us from working too much, being too busy, producing too much. This is particularly difficult for pastors and heads of ministry; Since much of our work is invisible and intangible, we may be tempted to work harder than possible on visible tasks to show that we are active and strong, but it is also difficult because our work is more obviously a work of evangelization. get out of this?How do I slow down?How to rest when there are souls to save, being this work inherently so good and (dangerously) enjoyable?
I’ve been there and, in a way, I’m still there. It’s always a daily struggle to continue at a safe pace. Changing ways of thinking, beliefs and actions throughout your life can be extremely difficult, but it’s worth fighting. for a life timed by grace, not only because we will live longer (so we will serve more), but also with more joy, fruit and “full grace”.
Therefore, I want to persuade you to live a better and more useful life; I also want to convince you of the gravity of your situation. Should the rest of this chapter challenge him to evaluate his life, to have a sober vision, not only of the external, but of what is happening internally?Mind. It won’t just be the egocentrism of looking at the navel itself. “Taking care of oneself is the first step in caring for others, to love others as oneself,” JRBriggs says. It is not selfish to replenish energies and renew vitality to better serve God and others. As one of my friends said, “Put on the oxygen mask first so you can help others. “
This book provides good news for those experiencing stress. God Himself, in his grace, provides men with the means to press the “Restart” button of their lives. With his extensive experience in counseling and even his own personal struggles, Dr. David Murray offers weary men hope for the present and the future, helping them identify signs of stress and offering them help and practical strategies so that they can live at the pace of grace and be able to rediscover the joy and lightness of Christian life.
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