Finding the Strength to Keep Going When I'm Emotionally Worn Out - Part 2

0:35 So, how do I have the strength to keep going when I want to just do nothing? Number one, honestly tell God what I'm feeling and humbly ask God for His strength. Now, here's the third key that the Bible teaches us to having the daily strength that you need to keep going when you're under stress or in times of great change. Here's the third key. Number three, gratefully thank God. Gratefully thank God for all that's good despite all that's bad. Let me say that again. The third key to having the strength to keep going is to gratefully thank God for all that's good, despite all that's bad. It's a matter of choosing what you think about because the world is filled with both good and bad. Now, here's the principle in 1 Thessalonians 5, 18. The Bible says this, give thanks in all circumstances. Hmm. What does that not include? None. Give thanks in all. I looked up the word all. It means all. Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1:56 People always say, I want to know God's will. What's God's will for my life? There it is. God's will for your life is the attitude of gratitude to give thanks in all situations, in all circumstances. Now notice, don't misread that verse. It doesn't say, for all things, give thanks. It says, in all things, give thanks. Give thanks in all circumstances. Doesn't say give thanks for all circumstances. You get cancer, you don't have to be thankful for that. A little child is molested, you don't have to be thankful for that. Somebody gets in an accident, you have to be thankful. No, that's actually ridiculous. I mean, that's evil. You don't have to be thankful for evil. It doesn't say give thanks for everything. There's a lot of things that we shouldn't be thankful for, but it says in all circumstances, circle that, in all circumstances, it is God's will for me to develop the attitude of gratitude. And this is the third key to keeping on. You know, I've been in ministry now 52 years. How have I been able to keep my joy?

3:03 This is one of the principles, the attitude of gratitude. A number of scientific studies have concluded that the attitude of gratitude is the healthiest emotion that humans can have. In fact, every time you take time to express gratitude about anything, to anyone, to God or Every time you take time to express gratitude, it helps refill your empty emotional gas tank. For your own good, you need to develop the attitude of gratitude. It's one of the four keys to keeping on, keeping on, to having the strength to make it to the finish line. One of the most practical yet powerful habits that you can develop is to make a daily gratitude list. to sit down for five minutes each day and go, okay, what am I grateful for? And you start making a list of things that you're thankful for. That will strengthen your soul. Okay? This is the third key to having the energy, emotional energy to keep on keeping on. Now, it's easy to be grateful, obviously, when your emotional tank is full and things are going great in your life and you don't have any problems or just a few of them. And it's much harder to find things to be thankful for when you're in a crisis or when you're facing a prolonged chronic stress. But when you're worn out, listen, when you're worn out or when you're experiencing burnout, emotional burnout, and you just got the blahs. That's when you need the tool of gratitude the most to help refill your empty emotional gas tank. Now, the greatest example of gratitude and this principle is found in the life of Job. Remember the story of Job? Job was the wealthiest man of his generation, very great,

5:09 great man, very successful man, but he lost everything in a single day and he didn't know why. What happened in a single day with Job was all of his children were murdered by terrorists. All of his crops, all of his livestock, and his home was completely destroyed in a single day. And on that same day, Job contracted a painful, deadly disease. You talk about having a bad day. His life literally collapsed overnight. And Job had every reason to be angry and to be bitter because nothing made sense. Here he is serving God, doing the right things. He was a just man, the Bible said, but nothing made sense. He literally lost everything in his life in one day. What did Job do? He did this third point when he was in a situation where he was going, I don't know if I've got strength to go on. What he did is he gratefully worshiped God when everything around him did not make sense. Obviously, it's easy to worship God when everything's going your way, but how do you worship God when everything's not going your way?

6:30 Job chapter one, verses 20 to 22, it says this, that in grief, Job tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground and he worshiped God. Is that a strange thing to do in the middle having lost everything in your life, he fell to the ground and worshiped God. And here's what he said. Here's Job's perspective. I was born with nothing, and I'm going to die with nothing. The Lord gave, and now the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised. That's gratitude. In spite of everything, the Bible says, that had happened, this is the next verse, in spite of everything that had happened, sin by blaming God. Now, if you're taking notes right now on your outline, I want you to circle the phrase, praised in spite of everything. Circle that phrase, he praised in spite of everything.

7:35 Do you do that? Or do you only thank God when things are going good in your life? You see, throughout this book, Job expresses trust and praise and gratitude to God, even when he has all these problems and tragedies are happening in his life, one right after another. And when Job could not find anything, any circumstance that he could be grateful for, he just couldn't find anything. He lost it all. What does he do? He expresses gratitude for God's character. He expresses God for what he knew God was really like. Now, that is a lesson we all need learn. When you're going through a time and you go, I can't find anything in my life to be thankful for. Well, I bet you could. Okay. I bet you could. But if you were not able to find anything you could be thankful for in your life, you could still be thankful for who God is. And Job shows us that in spite of how I feel, I can always be grateful. I've listed just three or four of the things he's grateful for in the book of Job. There are about 15, but Job says, I can always be grateful that God is loving and cares for me. Job 10, 12, God is loving and cares for me.

8:59 And I know that even when things are going wrong in my life, God is a loving God and he cares for me. I can be grateful for that. Then Job 23, 14, I can be grateful that God has a detailed plan for my future. I can't see it, but because I know God's a good God and he has a plan for my life, it's a good plan. He has a detailed plan for my life. In Job 34, 13, I can be grateful that God is in control of what I don't understand. That's been comforting to me so many times. God's in control of what I don't understand. And then in Job 23, 10, I can be grateful that God will reward me after I'm tested, after I'm tested. There will be a reward for all the problems that I'm going through right now. Now, let me just say this to you. I don't know what's sapping your strength today, but I do know that one of the antidotes to what's sapping your strength is personal worship. That is one of the four antidotes to the things that drain your emotions, worship. King David modeled this key also besides Job. Psalm 63, verse 2 says this.

10:15 David says, so here I am in the place of worship, eyes open, drinking in your strength. Drinking in your strength. Wow. In God's glory. Worship is a time to drink in God's strength.

10:37 to your life. If you stop worshiping, you're gonna run out of emotional energy. Here I am in the place of worship, eyes open, drinking in your strength. Strength comes from worshiping God. And Psalm 69, 32 says this, it's on the screen, those who worship God will be encouraged. Why? Because when I worship, I focus on God. And you know what I've discovered? The bigger God gets in my view, the smaller all my problems get. When God's not in my view, my problems seem so big, but when I compare them to God, my problems shrink in size. I can't tell you how many times I've had a problem that I thought was overwhelming to me, and then I'd go to church service, a worship service, and I would worship with other believers, and all of a sudden, it just shrinks the problem. It's not as big because I see the greatness of God. All right, now let's just review. Four keys to the power of recharging your emotions so you can keep on and have the strength to finish well.

11:43 First key to keep going, honestly tell God what I'm feeling. Don't hold it in, don't stuff it. Second key to keep going, humbly ask God for strength. In humility, say, God, I need you. I need your strength today. And you say it over and over. Third key to keeping on, keeping on, thank God for all that's good, despite all that's bad. There's a lot of bad in the world, but if you look for it, there's plenty of good too. And now we come to the fourth and final key to having the strength to keep on keeping on when you feel like giving up. Number four, constantly keep God as my focus. Constantly keep God as my focus. I'm humbly asking,

12:36 continuing and I'm honestly telling God how I feel, but now I'm constantly keeping God as my central focus. What does that mean? It means don't let yourself be distracted by less important things. All the stuff that the cable news and everybody else thinks is so important, it's not that important. Now, this is a powerful tool for having the strength to keep going for the rest of your life to finishing well. Hebrews 12, verse 2 says this, we must focus on Jesus. This is the fourth key, the fourth secret. We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He, Jesus, saw the joy ahead of him. So he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Then he received the highest position in heaven.

13:36 Now that verse is chock full of spiritual truth, but I just want to mention a couple things. The reason that Jesus was able to keep going strong, are you listening to it? The reason Jesus was able to keep going strong, even through the pain and the shame of the cross, was because what

13:58 see that? He wasn't focusing on the current pain, the current problems, the current stress, the current difficulties, the current criticisms. He wasn't focused on all that. No, he was focused on the future joy. He says he looked to the joy that was set before him. He looks past the cross to the reward. He looks to the future glory. He has an eternal perspective. Now, listen, if you only face life, your life, with short-term perspective, you're not going to keep going strong. I don't give you a snowball's chance in hell of finishing well if you have a small, short-term focus, because you'll give up. You'll quit. But if you want to be like Jesus, you look past the pain to the promise. You look past the cross to the joy in heaven. Let me just ask you a pointed question right now.

14:58 What do you think about the most these days? think about that. Be honest. What do you think about most these days? Is it short-term or long-term? And what do you talk about most these days? The reason I'm asking this question is because whatever you think about the most and whatever you talk about the most, that's your life focus. And if it's not Jesus, it's no wonder you're draining. It's no wonder society is draining you. And all the things, if you're focusing on all the problems and you can't wait to the latest news, well, no wonder. Second Corinthians chapter four, verse 16 to 18 says this, this is why we never give up. Are you listening? This is the key. This is why we never give up. Our spirits are being renewed every day. and our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce in us, for us, an immeasurably great glory that's going to last forever. The temporary problems are going to produce everlasting glory and reward forever. So, he says, we fix our eyes, that's focus, not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. It's choosing what you're going to look at, choosing what you're going to focus on. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Now let's go back on that verse. He says, first, he said, you've got to look, here's why we never give up. He said, we never give up because we're not focusing on the short

16:52 we're gonna keep going. And he says there's five ways in that passage that I just read, five ways to stay strong emotionally. Are you listening? We never give up because number one, our spirits are being renewed each day. You say, how do I get my spirit renewed every day? Get in this book. Thy word is truth, sanctify them through thy truth. The Bible says this is food. live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. You wouldn't think of fasting for a week, but some people, they don't open their Bible for an entire week. If you don't eat the food, this is soul food. The way you get your spirit renewed is to get in this word every day, his word, first word, his word, last word. Second reason we don't give up, because we know that all the troubles on earth are temporary. They don't last. You know what?

17:52 that lasted my entire life. And I have some problems in my life that have lasted my entire life. I was born with some brain disorders and things like that. But even if it lasts all my life, that's minuscule compared to the trillions and trillions of years we're gonna have in heaven. So we know the problems on earth are temporary. They have a long-term expected. Three, we know that God is using everything in our lives to build our character. All things work together for the good of those who love God. God is using even the bad stuff to build our character. Four, the Bible says in that passage, we know the reward's going to be great and it's going to last for eternity. And number five, we're keeping our eyes on God. We're focused. We fix our attention. We're focused on God, not on the problems. So let me ask you, what are you focused on today? all the mess in the world. Stop looking at your problems. Start looking at Jesus again.

18:51 Now, I want to close with a scripture that's going to be my prayer for you all this next week. It's Colossians 1, verse 11, because I want you to make it to the finish line. My job as your pastor is a spiritual coach to help you keep on keeping on and to not get sidelined in this marathon of life, to not run off in the ditch, to not finish the race. Colossians 1.11, Living Bible says this, and I'm praying this for you. We're praying that you will be filled with all his, that's God's, mighty, glorious strength. I'm praying for God to fill you with his mighty, glorious strength. So you don't feel weak. So that you can keep going. That's what we're talking about this weekend.

19:45 So that you can keep going. You need the strength to keep going. We're praying that God's mighty, glorious strength will fill you so that you can keep going no matter what happens. Always full of the joy of the Lord. That's my prayer for you. You know why? It'll not only make you happier, But the world desperately needs you to be that kind of person, full of joy in the Lord. You're able to keep going because you're filled with the mighty strength of God's spirit in you. And that makes you joyful, even in the most depressing times and in the most discouraging situations, it still makes you joyful. It's not false optimism. It's the joy that comes from a deep trust in Jesus. That's my prayer for you. I hope you'll put these into practice this next week. Before we close, let me say a word to those of you who may not be sure that you've been saved by Jesus.

20:45 The only way you're going to finish well in life is by letting Jesus give you his presence in your heart, his power in your life to enable you to fulfill his promise that he has for your soul and your whole life. You need to be saved. Notice the last verse on your outline, 2 Timothy 1, verse 8 and 9. And I love the message translation says this, we can only keep on going. We can only keep on going after all by the power of God, the power of God who first saved us. Now, before you can have the power of God in your daily life, you gotta let God save you. He first saves you, and then he gives you the power for daily living. Now, if you're not sure whether you've been saved or not, it would be my honor right now to lead you in a prayer of salvation, if you're not sure. Let's just settle this issue for once and for all, your eternal destiny, all right? So let's all bow our heads together, and I'm gonna pray a simple prayer. And I'd like to ask you to just follow me in it.

21:58 And if you're sincere and you mean it in your heart, God's gonna hear you and he will save you. The Bible says, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. So let's bow our heads and just say something like this. Dear God, you know I'm tired and you know how many times I feel empty and I feel out of gas and I don't feel like I've got what it takes to keep on going. and I feel like sometimes given up in different areas of my life. But I want your power in my life and more than that, I want you in my life. Thank you for loving me. Just say that. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for me. Help me to understand what that's all about. And as much as I know how today, I ask you,

22:54 Put your spirit of love inside me. Come inside me and fill me with new energy, with new strength, the strength that comes from trusting in you. I can't do this on my own. I need your help. So as much as I know how today I'm saying, yes, God, yes, I want you in my life. and I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know you as a friend and filling the purpose that you created me for. I humbly ask you to accept me into your family by your grace. And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

23:43 You know, if you just prayed that prayer for the very first time, or you just recommitted your life to Jesus again today, would you let me know about it? There's something real about sharing your commitment. So write me, Rick, at PastorRick.com and say, Rick, I prayed that prayer of commitment. I gave my life to Christ. And I'll send you some material that'll help you on your journey with Jesus, and I'll also...