Jesus seldom ministered to the “needy” apart from His small group of disciples. His strategy for reaching out to a lost world was through His band of twelve. Wherever they went, there was always much work to be done, and, from the perspective of His disciples there was not enough time in the day to finish the work. At the end of each day the disciples could see so much more that could be done – more of which they were glad to do! If left to the disciples to “call the shots” they would have pushed on, well into the night, until, eventually they would have been overtaken by emotional and physical exhaustion.
At the end of each exciting and eventful day of ministry Jesus would call “time-out”, leading His disciples away from the high demands of their unfinished work to a place where they could rest, refresh, and renew for the new day ahead.
Burning-out for Jesus is not the way to please God and expect to earn His “well done, good and faithful servant” commendation. The Lord doesn’t want us to live our lives sprinting all the way to the finish line, jeopardizing our health and wellbeing. Allowing ourselves to become worn-out in our lives costs us His joy, peace and power, and leaves us staggering toward the finish line.
The Lord is not about weighing us down with things to do for Him, but wants us to slow down, lighten-up and learn the importance of “waiting” on Him so that He may do more in and through us. Isaiah says,
“He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; He offers strength to the weak. Even youths will become exhausted, and young men will give up. But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (40:29-31 NLT).
So, in our Christian service to the Lord, we have a choice to make – to “wait or wane”.
