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The Citizen, 2009-09-24, Page 13By Pastor Ernest Dow, LivingWater Christian Fellowship(EMC), Blyth There’s only one problem withholidays – there’s never enough of them! For a short while we may have been relaxing at the cottage, travelling, enjoying peace and the cry of seagulls at the beach – no phone calls, no meetings – then suddenly September comes along and, bang! We’re right back into the thick of busyness: shipping kids off to school, moving them across the continent to a new college; returning to work and discovering you have over 300 new e-mails to catch up on. All at once you realize you’re back on the treadmill and can’t keep up. Feeling overwhelmed by work and information pressures is a common sentiment today. Baha and Margaret Habashy are Christians who run Integrity Plus Consulting in Markham, Ontario. Recently they surveyed clients asking if they observed the following symptoms in their life or workplace. Here are the factors and percentage who said they felt them: • Feeling overwhelmed 63 per cent • Recurring ill health and stress induced symptoms (headache, muscular pain, colds and low grade infections…), 44 per cent • Irritability and feeling “edgy”, 56 per cent • Resentment of voice mail, e–mail, and meetings, 56 per cent • Chronically talking about not keeping up or always saying, “I am very busy,” 69 per cent • Feeling guilty over being behind, 73 per cent • Compromised social and family life, 59 per cent Obviously, being overwhelmed and too busy is taking a huge toll on people’s health and family relationships. Our modern pace of life and the flood of information burdens us with stress, irritation, and guilt. If that’s all there is to life – without a supernatural pressure–relief valve, who could stand it? God tells us in scripture there’s more to life than just being overloaded. Psalm 131 gives believers permission to step off the treadmill so we can keep in touch with what’s most important in life – knowing our Lord. Psalm 131:1 states, “I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me,” (New International Version) or in the NewLiving Translation, matters ‘tooawesome for me to grasp’. In otherwords, I’ve learned my limits; Idon’t bite off too much to chew. So as you start marking down events in your fall schedule, don’t overcrowd your calendar to the point you have no ‘margins’ in life. Be a humble servant with right priorities, not feeling you have to say ‘yes’ to everything. At the busy train and underground stations we saw recently in London, England, there were always attendants nearby who were very helpful, whether putting a ramp down for a wheelchair or answering questions about which platform was needed. The attendants never seemed to be in a hurry; a big part of their helpfulness was their availability – not being overcommitted. V2 begins, “But I have stilled and quieted my soul...” This too is part of the preparation for meeting with God. Psalm 46:10 commands, “Be still and know that I am God...” That sort of implies you can’t truly discover God without calming and quieting the inner person. Psalm 37:7, “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways...” Stilling our soul, waiting on God helps us not fret, not be edgy about what may happen next. In our ‘instant’ culture, we may find it difficult to wait; we get impatient – that’s an indicator of hidden pride or desire for control. “Road rage” would be an example; think of that next time you come to one of those road–improvement flagmen / stoplights! Meditate – ‘Be still and know that I am God...’ The great heroes of the Bible deliberately took time out to meet with God. Moses no sooner escortedmillions of people out of Egypt thanhe took off to the mountain–top tohang out with God for 40 days andnights. Think of it – just left those people waiting there while he took time for the Lord! (Ex 24:14,18) After Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus and was dramatically converted, did he jump into ministry right away? No, he went off by himself to Arabia then Damascus; it wasn’t until three years later that he went to Jerusalem and became acquainted with the other apostles (Galatians 1:17). That time spent waiting on God, reviewing the Old Testament, soaking in Scripture and becoming familiar with how Jesus fulfilled prophecy, stood him in good stead in all the preaching and challenges he was about to undertake. Our Lord Jesus also modeled making time to be with the Father. He went away by Himself before choosing the disciples; when he was popular, with villages clamouring for him, he drew aside and got direction to spread the message to other villages (Luke 6:12; Mark 1:35). After feeding the 5,000 when people were about to make Him king by force, He withdrew; at Gethsemane at His final crisis when some would have been running, Jesus made time to pray (John 6:15; Mark 14:32,34). He told the disciples, “Watch and pray SO THAT you will not fall into temptation” – see what He’s driving at? Being still before the Father in prayer actually strengthens us to do what’s right, it protects us from making wrong wasteful moves. Be still and find strength. As Isaiah 30:15 puts it, “This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, inquietness and trust is yourstrength...’”Psalm 131 offers an unusual imageto picture a trusting soul’s relationship with our Sovereign God: second half of verse 2, “Like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.” We think of weaning young, but commentaries say this could be ‘a child of four or five who walks trustingly beside his mother’. Are we content as a little child savouring a stroller ride? Can we let God be in charge, steering our path at His pace? Will we fuss and complain, or trust He knows the way that’s best for us? The Psalm ends, “O Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore.” Hope in God. Not, hope in the stock market – it will fluctuate; or hope in your friends – they will let you down and be imperfect; not, hope in your property – when your life one day ends it will be no more use to you. Hope in God, now and forevermore: He is the only One who can truly satisfy our soul. Trusting God to be in control requires us to relinquish the degree of control that our selfish pride craves. Verse 1 begins, “My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are nothaughty...” To be proud and haughtyis needing to call the shots, asopposed to having a humble servantattitude. Paul advises the church in Romans 12:16, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” During our time in England this past summer we had the opportunity to visit Buckingham Palace, home of THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2009. PAGE 13. From the Minister’s Study‘More to life than just being overloaded’ getlivingwater.org Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848 Living Water Christian Fellowship 10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School at Blyth Public School, corner of King & Mill Tuesdays 7:30 pm - Wingham Bible Study 1st & 3rd Wednesdays 7:30 pm - Women at the Well Fridays 7:30 pm - Youth Group Evangelical Missionary Church September 27: James 1:2-15 Oct. 4: Our 8th Anniversary Pastor Jim Carne, Potluck! Persevering or Tossed About? Youre Invited to come worship with us Sunday, September 27 Brussels Public School at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday School for children 4 to 11 years of age (mornings only) Childcare provided for infants and toddlers Coffee & cookies after the morning service For additional details please contact: Steve Klumpenhower 519.887.8651 Rick Packer 519.527.0173 Chris McMichael 519.482.1644 MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available 519-887-9831 11:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship - Sunday School 9:30 am - Sunday Belgrave Service BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA Sandra Cable, Worship Leader Church Office 519-887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wightman.ca Sunday, September 27 Ethel United Church Worship Service - 9:30 a.m. Brussels United Church Worship Service - 11:00 a.m. Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship Sunday school has started ~ all children welcome PASTOR DAVID WOOD 119 John’s Ave.,Auburn 519-526-1131 www.huronchapel.org 9:30 a.m. Sunday School & Small Groups 10:30 a.m. Morning Worship Service WEDNESDAY NIGHT IS FAMILY NIGHT Beginning at 6:30 pm with... Olympians (Bible-based program for children in grades JK-6) Youth Small Groups Jr. High (Gr. 7/8), Sr. High (Gr. 9-12) and at 7:00 p.m. with Adult Small Group All programs are done at 8:00 pm Continued on page 18 Corner of Dinsley & Mill Street Blyth United Church Office: 519-523-4224 Rev. Gary Clark All Welcome Sunday, September 27 Worship Service & Sunday School at 11 a.m. Please join us for worship SUNDAYS Morning Service 10:00am Evening Service 7:30pm BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH Pastor John Kuperus Hwy. 4, Blyth THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA Welcomes you to come and worship with us Trinity, Blyth 9:15 a.m. 519-523-9595 St. John's, Brussels 11:15 a.m. 519-887-6862 Sunday, September 27 308 Blyth Rd. E. ~ Pastor Les Cook 519-523-4590 B l y t h C o m m u n i ty Church of God C H U R C H O F G O D ,ANDERS O N , I N D I A N A “The Church is not a building, it is people touching people Sunday School 9:45 a.m. - Christian Education for all ages 11:00 a.m. - Worship Service Mid-week Bible Studies See you Sunday!