Hello Church Family!
Today I want to encourage you! In this season of a divine reset, don’t hit snooze!
The Coronavirus seems to have interrupted all our lives in a tremendous way. Perhaps before this lockdown, we were all going a mile a minute with an overwhelming schedule that was weighing us down. Maybe this “pause” hasn’t felt like a pause at all. Or possibly it does but then we got busy again somehow, even during the lockdown.
Being overwhelmed can have many faces but if you sum it up, it basically feels like you’re drowning. When we’re overwhelmed we can suffer from a deficit of being able to focus and we can have low energy from exhaustion. Maybe in some cases experiencing panic attacks or anxiety.
Somehow with all the conveniences in our modern world, access to infinite information, luxury, and technology, none of this has made our lives feel less hectic and more fulfilling.
You know why? It’s because deep inside, we’re not modern. Sure on the outside, we might be modern people living in 2020, but inside we’re made up of the same things the ancients were made up of. The book of James says, "Elijah was a man with a nature just like us."
Our modern self has ancient needs that go unmet when we are drowning in our fast-paced schedules, devices, and entertainment.
Something we might not realize is there's a lot going on beyond what meets the eye. There is someone trying to drown you, overwhelm you and devour you. The Prince of the Air, he’s ruling a culture that is subtly pressuring you into a sleep. If he can do that, then he can drown you at the most opportune moment.
1 Peter 5:8 says this, "Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your Adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking to devour.”
In other words, stay alert and don’t be pressured to sleep by the temptations around you. Your opponent, the devil, is walking around in life like a roaring lion; seeking to overwhelm you and swallow you up.
The truth is Jesus taught us not to fall asleep from overwhelmed-ness or anxiety, but to stay alert in prayer.
Peter, the one who was overwhelmed in the garden of Jesus’ passion, was able to share his revelation with us because he learned it first hand. Jesus said this to Peter. “Pray that you may not enter into-temptation.” - Luke 22:39
If you’re feeling like you’re drowning and overwhelmed, I want to let you in on a truth. Jesus is diving into the mess you’re drowning in right now and He’s going to revive you. He’s going to revive us all through an ancient path. The path of Prayer, Sober Mindedness and being watchful.
Let’s pray like we’ve never prayed before! Let’s choose the ancient way, put down the cell phone, turn off the tv, grab your paperback bible, and turn to prayer with Jesus.
We can’t be sleeping through the quarantine. We can’t be sleeping on our marriage - parenting - family - finances - job - our church - our destiny, our LEGACY.
Let’s pray,
Mark Passarella