Never spend so much time working FOR God that you forget to spend time WITH God

Summers are crazy for me. I was out of town 6 of the last 8 weeks. From camps and retreats, to conference and vacation, my routine was shattered. I’m the kind of guy who thrives in routine and takes a long time to get back into the swing of things. Which is why I’m rambling about it now…because I’m still a bit rattled. Still trying to operate and succeed on my own…still trying to get peace back instead of resting in the peace I already possess. So here’s a portion of my new book, Stoker… (By the way, we postponed the release from July to August and we’ll be throwing a release party that everyone is invited to. Next week I’ll be posting the details and I CAN’T WAIT!!)…

It is extremely easy for me to get so caught up in the planning and programming that I forget to fill up first. So much time is given to writing sermons and developing sermon series that I forget to spend time with God for myself. It is so easy to be distracted by the things I think need to get done that I forget to seek the One who sustains me. Your own relationship with God is your first priority. People are second. You will never be able to minister properly if you aren’t first receiving from Christ. We leaders are like a sponge. We soak up tons of information, knowledge, wisdom, and revelation from God but then we need to share it with others. Like a sponge, we soak up all the good stuff then ring that good stuff out on others. This is a cycle and a continual one at that. However, if we ever stop soaking up the goodness of God, we’ll dry out.

In the first chapter of Mark when Jesus calls his first disciples, it says that James and John were ‘preparing’ their nets. That word prepare or mend means to clean. If the nets weren’t cleaned properly, they would rot and break. Preparing for the catch is more important than the catch itself, for if one doesn’t prepare, holes will prevent the net from catching anything. I’ve heard it at almost every leadership conference I’ve been to but the truth remains, “The day you stop learning (preparing) is the day you stop leading.” And we must first be in step with our Heavenly Father, learning from Him in a personal and intimate way.

So as the title says, “Never spend so much time working FOR God that you forget to spend time WITH God.”