Rest for our souls!

So where, in the face of the dynamics previously discussed, do we find rest for our soul? This seems to be the starting point for the way ahead. No surprise then that ultimately and first off this can only be found in God and in His Presence. It’s been interesting that as I have sat with the guys who have experienced burnout in recent times we have found that their identity is wrapped up in their work – more than they thought at first. That’s how many guys are wired. I have done some personal reflection on this and tried to find out how much my own identity is founded on God’s love for me and His acceptance of me in grace, rather than my performance and what I do and achieve. In Ex. 33:14 God says ‘My presence will go with you and I will give you rest’.

A couple of years ago King’s church stopped growing for the first time in 10 years. One of the biggest challenges for me in that situation was asking myself, ‘Is this it then, Steve?’ Keeping one’s peace in God at a time like that is a challenge. I’m looking to grow a big church – unashamedly that’s what I’m going for. I don’t know if it will happen – ask me in 20 odd years when I’m preparing to hand the baton on to someone else! But what do we do if the prophetic words that we’ve had spoken over us don’t seem to be coming about? Or if our hopes and dreams seem to go cold and stale?

God is not impressed by the size of your church, nor the scale of your ministry. It’s all grace. It’s all from Him. We are stewards of that grace and one day will give an account to Him. As that grace comes from God, so does the peace that comes from knowing we are loved by Him. If we get hold of this fact, it has the power to transform our lives at a foundational level.