I don’t know about you, but I just am not as good of a person when I’m tired.  Some people act like they need very little sleep and they can perform fantastic – I don’t like those people.  Then, I wonder, are they only fooling themselves and really don’t understand how much better they could be with more rest?

It’s interesting that the Bible has a lot to say about rest.  God even through in an extra day in every week for that very purpose.  Jesus, God in the flesh, intentionally pulled away from the crowds, went off on retreats (40 days in a desert), prayer times in a garden.  So, who am I to think I don’t need to do similar?

My problem is that a strength of mine (according to StrengthsFinder) is achiever.  Therefore, I want do it all.  I want to work really hard, see progress, exercise to be as healthy as possible and be a great husband and super dad.  Unfortunately, there isn’t always time to feel accomplished in all of those areas at the same time (and those aren’t all the areas).  Do you ever feel that way?  Strung out, pushed to the limit, going 100 miles an hour in many directions, everyone needing a piece of you.

Let this be a reminder to all the achievers and people who tend to push it as fast as possible that our Savior calls us to rest.  Take your foot off the accelerator, find a quiet place to meditate and pray, get to bed a little earlier tonight, leave work a little early and hug your kids, and enjoy the earth that God put you on.  I think we’ll find that He will honor our act of wisdom and bless our humility in acknowledging that He is God and we are not.  Plus, we’ll probably be more pleasant to be around, I know I am.

In last weekend’s message, I used the passage in 2 Corinthians 12 where the Apostle Paul explains that had a “thorn in the flesh” that he prayed for the Lord to remove.  Instead of removing it, God answers him by saying “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Not the answer Paul was asking for, but it’s the answer he needed!

Though we long for our life to be made easier, isn’t it true that it’s in the difficult situations that we grow the most and God’s glory is revealed?  It’s when your business is suffering that you get more creative and look for opportunities you didn’t search for before.  You might even explore becoming an entrepreneur in these times when all you were doing before is playing it safe.  We can discover our greater character in times of greatest challenge.

This is why God wants to put us out on the fringe.  He knows that when we are playing it safe in the middle, we will never experience His strength.  But, as we are moved out towards the edge of bankruptcy, isolation, hardships and persecutions, we seek Him earnestly, yield to Him more completely and trust Him wholeheartedly.

What might God be doing in your life right now on the fringe?  Is God leading you toward a place of His power that you will only discover in a time of weakness?  It may not be the answer we’re looking for, but it might be the answer we need.

I wish I was good at everything, but the truth is there are some things I’ll never be good at no matter how hard I try.  For example, I may dream of playing in the NBA, but no matter how hard I train, my chances of being on a team are about zilch.  On the contrary, there are some other things in which I’m pretty good at and could even become great. 

Every leader should discover where their strengths are and where they are not.  A good leader will then begin to develop their strengths and delegate their weakness.  In today’s reading of the One Year Bible, Paul explains this in Romans by comparing each of us a a body part.  Just like many parts come together to form your physical body, likewise we all come together to form one spiritual body (His church).  He further develops this idea by saying that if you have the gift of serving – then by all means serve.  If you have the gift of encouraging – then get out there and encourage someone. 

This principle works in reverse: if you are gifted to encourage then don’t spend the bulk of your time trying to serve because you’re not that good at it.  Plus, someone else around you IS really good at it and wondering why you’re doing it all wrong!  Dare to be what you are, what God created you to be and let others do what they are gifted to do and you do what you are gifted to do. 

Allowing those around you come along side and carry what you were never meant to carry makes you a team player.  Maybe not on the NBA, but for a championship team nonetheless.