Sundays are said to be a day of rest. I fully believe this. However, it can be a little challenging if you are in ministry.
Oh, and before you count yourself out of this, ALL of us are ministers. If you go to church, serve at church (on Sunday or any other day of the week), serve in your community, or are an active Christian listen up.
Most Sundays, I am up by 6am to get ready for my day. I might serve/work anywhere from 3 to 14 hours at church on any given Sunday. (True story.) But here’s the confession: Sometimes I don’t wanna.
I will give you a second to pick your jaw up off the ground.
Don’t get me wrong– I love my Lord and I love my job. But it can be HARD and EXHAUSTING job sometimes. (Side note: It’s super important to take a Sabbath another day of the week to recover and prevent burn out.)
It’s also important to know that His followers aren’t the only ones working overtime… The Enemy is clocked in, working against us, trying to keep us from bringing glory to God.
I think that is why it is such a battle for so many to roll out of bed and actually GO to church, regardless if it is to serve or worship. See, we not only have our flesh working against us thinking “Just five more minutes” which soon turns into “It’s OK if I skip church today– I will pray extra hard this week,” Satan is helping that process along as well.
This isn’t a post to condemn or cause guilt. I mean seriously, there have been more days than I would like to admit when I have to literally say out loud on a Sunday morning “Get behind me Satan! Help me Jesus to get motivated to serve YOU!”
I really just want to make you aware that Satan is working overtime, trying to prevent the great work that God has in store for us to accomplish for Him.
Unfortunately, The Enemy is pretty stinkin’ good at his job. Sigh. (Won’t somebody fire that guy, already?)
Sometimes, that jerkface starts working overtime on me the night before. Saturday evening can bring ridiculous thoughts of “Oh man, I have to get up at _ o’clock tomorrow” or “I really don’t want to meet with _____, I want to just chill.”
Ludicrous thoughts, I tell you. Fortunately, God always comes through for me. And once I get to church and “clock in” (figuratively speaking of course– we are all on duty, all the time of course!) the power, love and motivation I feel are simply unexplainable.
When we take a step of faith, whether it is volunteering at church or sharing our faith, we have a big, fat, red target on our back. And Satan takes aim. However, if we listen to The One, He is ALWAYS victorious. He gives us the weapons and tools we need to fight. To serve. To win.
Source: M Sullivan via Flickr
When do you struggle most to find motivation? What gets you going? How does God equip you to work overtime when Satan is in hot pursuit? I would love to hear about it… Leave a comment below, my sweet reader!
It’s a new week. Time to start fresh. Keep in mind that being a Christian isn’t easy. But it’s worth it. Satan isn’t the only one working overtime. So is Christ. And I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t ask for a better boss, defender and lover.
Be faithful and our eternal paycheck will reflect our efforts of working overtime in the name of Christ.
Clocking In,
SGK
“My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit.” ~Galatians 5:16 MSG
7 Days Time 
Amen and Amen! I try to take the occasional 2nd Sunday off. This is typically the Sunday I am not arriving early for sound checks and preparing for special music. Sadly for the past few months, for one reason or another, I have not been able to do this. I have missed one Sunday and the rest was wonderful. With school starting soon and regular schedule resuming at my church the pace will pick up as my responsibilities increase. Ministry leadership, no matter the ministry, is vital to every church. God is faithful to renew our strength and provide the rest we need. As for the interruptions…I have those too…but that is for another time. God Bless!
Peach State
I praise God for your faithfulness to His service. So glad our overtime is paid in heavenly dollars, yes? 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by– and may you be blessed abundantly, my friend!
You’re right. He’s a jerkface and he will get fired. Thanks for your candid reminder to serve the Lord with gladness. I get up at 5:00 on Sundays, get our Sunday dinner in the oven (most Sundays) before we leave the house at 7:30. Boy can I relate.
Oh man, that is hardcore. Fortunately for us, Sunday dinner usually consists of leftovers from the weekdays prior 🙂
Or sandwiches. Can’t go wrong with sandwiches.
We were just talking about this during Sunday School yesterday. (Obviously, those of us in SS had gotten up and gotten there!) But it seems like church attendance isn’t as much a priority as it once was for families. How do we get people in the habit of returning to church? It’s a real challenge but it’s so important for the future of our small town church. And I believe it’s important to share the community of faith with people. Thanks for your perspective today!
You are so right, Kim… It is a huge challenge. God certainly designed us to live, work and serve in community… Praying that us working overtime brings great dividends to the kingdom!
Great post. Personally, when I’m in one of these moments (and they’re more common during weeks like VBS) I simply NEED to stop and have a moment of quiet-time with Jesus. However it can happen, I must put everything out of my mind but Jesus…..if only for 2 or 3 minutes.
Thanks, Dude Reader… I’m praying for you all during VBS this week– I know its crazy, but hoping for a successful week of working overtime- then a lil R & R next week. 🙂