Do you ever feel as if you are letting everyone down? The inbox is out of control. The people you’ve been meaning to phone still haven’t heard from you. The to-do list is spiralling. And, even when you do meet with someone, you’re conscious they’re not getting your best (It’s not just you! Ed.).
At times like this we know that life isn’t sustainable, but we also desperately want to deliver what we (or others) think we should. So, distracted, demoralised and demotivated, we try to plod on, hoping that – one day, if we try hard enough – we’ll manage to catch up. If that doesn’t work, we can always run away, we remind ourselves – subconsciously at least, that’s often our Plan B.
It can be a familiar scenario. So much so that ‘letting people down’ can sometimes feel like a cultural norm. But it is a problem – for us and those around – one that, if left unaddressed, can lead us hurtling towards burnout, depression or despair.
A quick tap into a search engine and it’s easy to come up with ideas that help. There’s software that helps us plan, techniques to maximise our time, encouragements to rest, and even a few inspirational posters to spur us through the day. Most of those things are worth a look – there’s common grace, wisdom, in the world. But what about our faith? What can we discover there?
I’ve been reading Philippians of late. It’s often my go-to book when life feels overwhelming: partly because it’s really short and partly because the final exhortations remind me of three important calls:
We are not supposed to be able to navigate the demands of this fallen world alone – we’re designed to live and serve in dependence on our Father (Phil. 4:6-7). Often, when the world crashes in, our devotional life is the first thing to suffer. We pretend that we’re better off ploughing through the to-do list in our own strength than stopping and spending time seeking the Lord’s strength. And we do it time and again, despite ample evidence it never works! The call is there to come back and lean afresh on Him. He is the one who loves us best. He is the one whose peace we so desperately need.
Our minds are a battlefield and we need to fight.
When life is spiralling, our thought processes often go astray. We can talk ourselves down, using words like ‘failure’. We can adopt unthinkingly the expectations of others, as if they – not God – have the right to call the shots. We can indulge the kind of resentful and angry thoughts that not only embody sin, but sap what little energy we have left. How important, then, to hear Paul’s call to think about the true, the noble, the admirable – to see our circumstances with the lens of God’s word (Phil. 4:8-9). We can remember we are not omnipresent – we are finite, it’s OK not to be able to do it all. We can actively cultivate a right fear of God that mitigates against fear of man. We can repent of that hard-heartedness that so often drags godliness into grumpiness. And, as we do so, we can enjoy light pouring into what was once dark.
But there’s also a call to share the load. Paul couldn’t do mission by himself, and nor can we (Phil. 4:14-19). It’s good to actively look for ways to enable others to share in whatever we are doing for the Lord. We need it. Others grow through it. It’s how life is supposed to be. Of course, volunteers can sometimes be in short supply (and we can’t demand others help) but, over time, they can be encouraged. And while we are waiting, we can just do what we can (communicating clearly where our limits lay) and resting secure in the One who provides all things.
