How To Live And Not To Die - Chapter 3 The Danger Of Over Extending Yourself
Life is feeble without purpose. We must derive joy in God. We must sit down and not over extend our lives. You must not go beyond wisdom.
If life has nothing to push for, you may not achieve anything. If you can run in crisis, then you would be able to run in life. But when people are pushed beyond limit, it becomes dangerous.
In your life or job, there must be a time to say “Enough is enough”. The devil does not care when you go to heaven but he knows that when you are out of the battle by premature exit, you cannot defeat his kingdom again.
That is why we must settle down and know the danger of over extending ourselves. Time is the currency of this world. How you used the time determine what happens to you.
Is. 54:1-2
1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
God does not respond to need but he responds to hunger. And the supplier is at the mercy of the person making a demand. If there is no demand, the supply will be useless.
Beloved, there will always be need in our lives. This is because life is progressive. And God wants us to shine bright with each passing day.
Prov. 4:18
18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
We must think big.
Is. 54:1-2
1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
Barren people want to cry for humiliation. But God wants the barren to shout for joy so that God can fill the vacuum up.
God wants you to enlarge your tent so that you can break even. But you can make it to a point that the breakthrough becomes an idol. And when you don’t know your limit, you can break down. Even fasting can become an idol. Where every issue becomes a subject of fasting until the man dies.
I Kings 19:1-5
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
After the confrontation between Baal worshippers and Elijah, Ahab told Jezebel, all that Elijah did to the priests of Baal. At the peak of spiritual encounter, once the anointing was lifted condemnation crept in. The voice of the enemy was coming to him stronger than the voice of God.
Whenever this happens, it means the volume of your feeding on the word and renewal is getting low, that individual is under attack. And also, what use to excite you like going to church and fellowshipping with other believers, no longer excite you. You begin to struggle to do them.
This means you have used the word more than you are taking in.
Life is a cycle, you must feed whatever is feeding you. When the cycle is broken, there will be trouble. For example man inhales oxygen and gives out carbon dioxide. Whole plants do the opposite; they take in carbon dioxide and gives out oxygen. Everything that God made is in cycle to keep it going. Since he made everything, everything produces after its kind.
The word of a witch woman drove God’s prophet into a cave. Elijah was on the run for his life.
I King 19:2-3
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2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
What did he see? The words of that woman became a stronghold. He did not see God again. His focus was broken. He had exhausted spiritual power. And that is why renewing your mind as you feed on the word of God is important in our lives. He wanted to die. One of the power of stress is that it makes people withdraw.
I King 19:3-4
3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
He dropped his servant, the helper that he needed for recovery. God knew what he was going through. God allowed him to go on 40 days journey. He allowed him to relax so that he could be renewed again. He allowed him to get his mind out of his cares, worries and anxieties so that he could be refreshed again.
Then God told him what he could have told him 40 days before and in where he was 40 days back.
Beloved when you are exhausted and wearied, every sense of pleasure leaves. You will recall how the devil stressed Samson until he destroyed him. He tempted Samson to the level of exhaustion; so he could tempt him to do the unexpected.
How could they have scrapped the hair of the head of a mature champion without any awareness. May you not sleep a sleep of death in Jesus name. How could he have told his mind to somebody that was a deceiver? Something about stress is that it makes you behave like a drunkard.
Ex 18:14-20
14 And when Moses’ father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God:
16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
17 And Moses’ father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to Godward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
The pastor of the largest church in the world (Two million people) Moses, who led the wilderness church, was trained by Jethro, his father-in-law.
One time Jethro came around to see what God has done for them and he saw the people queuing to see Moses. Jethro had greater administrative ability, an innate instinct, although he was not an Israelite.
It is the same innate intelligence that is present in ants and eagles.
He knows that when a string stretches beyond the limit of elasticity it will break and get destroyed. And God does not want us to break in life. Neither does he wants us to be lazy and stagnant but to be balanced. There must be a balance of everything we are doing.
There was nobody among the people that could have told Moses the truth because nothing should make you rebuke your mentor than pray for him. But somebody that God used to train him can. And God used Jethro to train Moses, to unlearn what he learnt under Pharaoh for 40 years. He was not just a father-in-law, he was a mentor. He compelled his daughters to bring in Moses to be living with them, when he assisted them at the well in Midian. He later became a connecting point between God and Moses.
So in our road to greatness, God can use anybody to help us not only Christians alone but he can also use anything. We must be ready to learn so as to have wide understanding.
Jethro advised Moses that he would wear out if he insisted in seeing all the people. Not only him that would wear out, even the people queuing up to see him.
This is the danger of ministry that only see visions for people. People’s faith must be based on the word. You must allow them to sit down to learn.
You can be too spiritual, seeing the devil in everything, and not rational at all. And you can be too rational that you are not spiritual. You must be balanced.
Jethro was not speaking unbelief, he had reared animals and as a shepherd, he knew that human beings behave as sheep.
Ex. 18:19-26
19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to Godward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
21Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
22 And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.
25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
26 And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
Thank God that he had the fear of God. He told Moses to stand before God for the people and to also teach them the law of God. Then he should choose men that are faithful and able to rule 1,000, 100 and 10. Moses heeded the counsel. He saw that God brought Jethro to help him.
Why did God use Jethro? Why did he not tell Moses directly? This is because God will use the people around us to help us if we care to listen
That is why we must not close our ears and eyes to people around especially those who love us. Don’t ignore them. Self-care is not selfishness. We must be wise as ministers because if your children suffer, they will not want anything to do with your God.
God had to correct me many years ago, when I used to give out everything i had. Why play God in people’s lives.
Ps 103:5
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Best things are good for you. Holiness is not suffering. God satisfies your desires and necessities at your personal age. Don’t struggle on your own trying to achieve what others have achieved. Go to them to learn. It is pride that makes people not to learn from others.
Ps 127:2
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Don’t eat the bread of sorrow. At times we can be focused on our desire that it becomes an idol. We must put our dream on the altar; when we release control, we pass the test of trust. When you show God that you don’t have to have it to be happy, God will go to work, to make it to happen.
Ps 138:7
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
You must cast your cares upon the Lord. Worry ties the hand of the Lord. Frustration comes when you try to control everybody. Focus on what you can control. The area you cannot control, you must leave for God. Life is too short to be unhappy.
How To Handle Stress On A Day To Day Living?
Stress is the way a man reacts to situation that is beyond him. At a time, Moses was frustrated. He came to his limit and wished he would die. God did not try to tell him that he could do it. He knew he had come to his limit. He told him to choose 70 elders that he would put his spirit on them.
God did not want him to break down. That means he does not want us to break down either.
Stress also manifests as worry or anxiety. This causes wear or tear on the body and mind that the person will not be able to sleep.
Signs of Stress
(1) Forgetfulness during conversation.
(2) High temper, Anger is not bad because if there is no anger, there will be no holiness in your life. God puts anger for you to reject what is wrong. This is referred to as holy indignation. But when it is expressed in words it becomes a sin. Use your anger to do good. Avoid anger at the slightest provocation.
(3) Long term fatigue: This is why God established the principle of the Sabbath. When they break it in the Old Testament, they stoned them to death.
God wants you to be refreshed. When you are well rested, the body system has an inbuilt method of healing itself.
(4) Sense of helplessness
(5) Loss of sense of accomplishment
(6) Feeling of powerlessness
(7) Constant unexplained sickness. Many sicknesses are linked to stress. Every test shows that the individual is okay but he has a general feeling of unwellness, Headaches, pains in the neck and back, palpitations, hormonal imbalance, insomnia. Others are withdrawal to self, low self-esteem.
Causes of stress as researched by wise Christians
(1) Unforgiveness
(2) Uncertainty: The bible is the book of certainty.
(3) Overwork: Put limits around your life. You can’t be all things to everybody. And the more you keep unbelievers around you, the more you over work yourself.
(4) Financial challenges
(5) Wrong mindset
(6) Unfulfilled dreams
(7) Family troubles
(8) Too many work deadliness. No time to relax
(9) Business greed and covetousness
Types Of Stress
(a) Physical: Too much hard labour, you must shed useless load
(b) Emotional: Too much challenge on the mind
(c) Mental: Too many mental activities, too many calculations. Let office work remain at the office.
(d) Nutritional stress: Food deficiency in nutrients. Too much protein will overlabor the kidney.
If you have enough, do medical checkup once in a year.
(e) Psycho-spiritual stress: Beware of places you go.
This includes psychological abuse, demonic afflictions and maltreatment from false prophets.
(f) Traumatic stress: Death of a loved one.
Long term stress can lead to generative diseases. As Christians, we have a word advantage. Don’t push yourself too far. Meditate on scriptures. Put the word in your heart and in your mouth. Speak the word to your problem; make use of the power that is at work in you.
Eph. 3:20.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
It has been found out that people who attend church regularly tend to live longer.
Decrease obligation (especially for extroverts). Don’t promise what you cannot deliver. Observe the time of Sabbath, have time to rest.
Plan your life: Be orderly, Delegate when necessary. Shun negative emotions, angers envy and jealousy.
Eat living food, close to nature. Do regular exercise.
