When he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. —Job 23:10

The main reason for burnout and fatigue is almost certainly because someone has operated beyond their anointing rather than functioning within it. It was because the person could not accept the limits of his or her ability.

None of us can do everything, but to a person who is not content with the anointing or gift that he or she has, there will be trouble ahead. It is humbling to accept our limits, but there is considerable joy and peace in doing so, not to mention an increase of anointing. We can pray for a greater anointing—namely, an ability to do what we previously could not do in our own strength—but until that anointing has come, we must accept the limits of our faith and our ability.

When we are content with the anointing God chose for us, we do what we are called to do without fatigue. “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13). When I become mentally and emotionally fatigued in what I am doing, it is a fairly strong hint that I have chosen to move outside my anointing and what God specifically asked me to do. As long as I do what He called me to do and no more, I will not be edging toward burnout. God never promotes us to the level of our incompetence. As long as we are content with the calling He has chosen for us, we will live and move at the level He has seen fit to give us.

So if it is a great anointing you want, anticipate great suffering at some stage. The anointing is the power of the Holy Spirit to make you do what you do with ease and without fatigue. If you wake up one day with one big enormous trial before you, you should grasp it with both hands and consider it pure joy!

Excerpted from Pure Joy (Charisma House, 2006).

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. —James 1:2-3

It is not every day that I can remember where I was when understanding a particular verse in the Bible dawned on me, but I do when it comes to James 1:2. It came to me after losing my temper at a pizzeria in the summer of 1979. I had so looked forward to a pizza from this particular place and regarded such as a reward for returning to Disney World a second year in a row. But when the time came, everything went wrong. I became impatient for having to wait forty-five minutes for it, and then it rained so much, my pizza fell out of a wet paper bag into a puddle of water. Now I had to go back and face the same manager—after telling him off the first time. How could all this happen? I asked myself.

But James 1:2 had already been on my mind for weeks. As I drove back to the pizzeria that evening, I said to myself, Either James 1:2 is true or it isn’t, and if I plan to preach on it shortly, I had better begin practicing what I preach.

I have to tell you, this episode was pivotal for me, and I came to my senses for being so upset. Minutes before I returned to the pizzeria to apologize with genuine meekness to the manager, I repented before God for my anger and behavior.

I decided then and there to dignify that situation by accepting the entire matter as something God sent. That is when a new phrase was born to me: “dignifying the trial.” It was a divine setup. I not only repented to the Lord, but I also thanked Him for the whole thing. I apologized to the manager, cheerfully waited for another pizza (for some reason, he wouldn’t let me pay), and returned to my family at the motel a different person.

Excerpted from Pure Joy (Charisma House, 2006).

My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. —Psalm 131:1

What did David mean when he wrote these words? If he is telling the truth, we are seeing a quality of humility that is very rare. What a contrast to the spirit of today! We are living in an age in which we must catch the eye of other people. The key to success today has mainly to do with pride and self-esteem.

But the key to success in the world is the way of disaster in the things of the Spirit. What is the mother of all battles? Pride. There are many Christians today whose real problem is their pride. They want to be greater than others. This is in contrast to what Jesus said to His disciples: “The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt. 23:11-12).

Our pride will cause us to do stupid things. It will delay us coming to terms with the most important thing in the world: our relationship with God Himself. Pride keeps a person from confessing Christ openly, from going out on the streets to witness.

Jesus bore the sin of our pride at Calvary. He knew humiliation. He was naked on the cross. When we see all that the Son of God went through, we must know that there was no other way whereby we could be saved. It is not by our good works or joining a church. It is not by getting rid of a habit, however bad it is.

Something will happen to us when we resign from the rat race and realize that the only thing that matters is for God to have us all to Himself. We will get to know Him, and we will be amazed.

Remember, the key to success in the world is the way of disaster in the things of the Spirit. (See Galatians 5:17.)

Excerpted from Higher Ground (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1995).

For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. —1 Corinthians 3:9

It is intrinsic to understanding God’s sovereignty that we realize what Paul meant when he said that Christians are God’s field. He is showing that God owns us. This simply means that God has total rights to our lives. We have no private life; our private life is His. We cannot go on a two-week vacation and say, “God, I want a good time, and You have been breathing down my neck for most of the year. I would like a couple of weeks away from You.” No, He’ll go with us on vacation; we have no time that we can call our own. It is His time. We have no secret thoughts about which we can say, “God, I just don’t want You to know about this.” We do not own ourselves.

Does this disturb and annoy you? Or does this thrill you to your fingertips to know that you are bought with a price? It is true whether you like it or not! You are His; He owns you. You are God’s field; it is not your field. For that reason God can do what He wants with you, and because you are His, you can’t get rid of Him even if you tried. You may have said to God, “Leave me alone.” But He didn’t; He would not.

Because He owns us, God has no obligation to us. God ultimately takes the responsibility not only for saving us but also for our development.

Every virtue we possess,

And every conquest won,

And every thought of holiness,

Are his alone.

—Harriet Auber, “Our Blest Redeemer, Ere He Breathed,”

public domain

It is a mystery that God, who chose me in Christ before the foundation of the world, works for my growth. 

Excerpted from When God Says “Well Done!” (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1993).

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. —Psalm 103:13-14

What is your thorn in the flesh? Is it a frailty? It may be a physical problem. It may be an emotional problem. It may be a personal weakness.

It may be a fault: a defect, or imperfection—one that feels embarrassing and humbling. You may have prayed about it a thousand times. You may have asked people to lay their hands on you and to pray that this imperfection would disappear. I myself have done this.

It may be a friend. Sometimes a dear friend can be a real thorn in the flesh. Perhaps he is difficult. You want to be with him, but afterward you feel frustrated or all the worse for being in his company. It may be a love-hate relationship. You feel you can’t be without this person, but the relationship is always edgy, prickly. You feel that even discussing it would be spontaneous combustion!

It may be an enemy. This person seems to live to make you look bad! But it may be that your enemy—who keeps you on your toes (not to mention your knees)—is raised up by God to keep you sharp and careful.

Could your thorn in the flesh be that you have known failure? It may have been financial failure, a failed marriage, or a job loss. Or, when facing temptation, you failed, and the whole scenario haunts you daily.

Perhaps someone has lied about you. You cannot defend yourself. People believe the lie. You long with all your being to be vindicated. But God withholds vindication. This could be your thorn in the flesh.

Don’t despise your thorn, whatever it is. Don’t resent it. It exists by God’s sovereign pleasure. It is for your good. It is the best thing that ever happened to you next to your conversion and anointing. It is only a matter of time before you will appreciate it.

Excerpted from The Thorn in the Flesh (Charisma House, 2004).

Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves. —Psalm 127:1-2

When God is in something, He grants us success, and it comes easily.

This psalm tells us what God does when He says “Yes.”

First, He builds (v. 1). He supplies the energy and the materials. He supplies the labor and the success that had been so eluding. Things begin to happen—with ease.

Second, God watches (v. 1). It is a wonderful thing to know that God is looking after you. If God says “Yes,” you don’t have to worry.

Third, God feeds (v. 2). It is pointless to wear yourself out toiling for food to eat, for if God says “Yes,” He just supplies your need.

Fourth, God grants sleep (v. 2). I experience times of insomnia; everybody does at times. It is worse if there is a hard day coming up. This happened to me when we went to Hong Kong some time ago. I thought I knew jet lag when I came from America to Britain, but I had never experienced anything like what I felt after flying from Britain to Hong Kong. It was awful. I was scheduled to be on a Hong Kong radio station the next day, but I was awake all night.

This verse has since helped me to see that sleep comes from God, and if I don’t get the sleep I think I need, it will still be OK. The radio interview went fairly well, and I made it through the day.

When He says “Yes,” it makes a big difference. But to know this, you may have to fast and pray. If God is hiding His face from you, and you don’t know what to do, go and spend a whole day in prayer and fasting.

Within God’s will there is no failure; outside of God’s will there is no success.

Excerpted from Higher Ground (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1995).

So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.” —Luke 17:10

Although we don’t deserve it, there is God’s promise to us in our showing gratitude. Gratitude shown, even keeping our vows, contains great promise! God does not have to promise us anything for our showing thankfulness. We ought to be thankful to Him for His goodness. Period. End of story. But I can tell you that He delights in rewarding those who show that they are grateful to Him. God does not have to promise us blessing if we tithe, but He does. (See Malachi 3:10.) God does not have to promise us blessing for forgiveness, for not judging, and for giving to others, but He does. (See Luke 6:37-38.)

In other words, our obedience to show gratitude is required of us. “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty'” (Luke 17:10). Obedience is duty. But God is so good, so kind, so merciful! We cannot out-praise the Lord, out-give the Lord, or out-thank the Lord!

He has chosen to show His pleasure when we get it right and do it right. For those strong enough in themselves that they need no further affirmation from God or recompense, I say, “Good for you.” But I, for one, am not that strong. I need affirmation and all the encouragement I can get. I sometimes come to tears when I read those words of David: “For he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Ps. 103:14). I am so weak that I need all the motivation  I can get to press on with any kind of obedience, and that includes the obedience of gratitude.

Excerpted from Just Say Thanks! (Charisma House, 2005).

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” —1 Corinthians 15:33

Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra wrote in his masterpiece, Don Quixote de la Mancha, “Tell me thy company, and I will tell thee what thou art.” There is some truth to that statement. We are known by the company we keep.

We often believe that this concept applies only in our interaction with unbelievers; however, this can be applied to our relationship within the body of Christ, also.

Some years ago I was in a situation where I found myself unwittingly in the grip of someone who I could see was not good for me. The person was a professing Christian, but I found myself in his grip, and I was leaning on him. I realized that this was wrong, and God delivered me from the situation. I was so thankful.

Am I advising you to avoid altogether unbelievers or certain members within the body of Christ? Most certainly not. However, ask the Lord to shine His light on the various relationships in your life.

Could it be that at this moment you are in this snare? You are trapped with bad company, and they are doing you no good. Maybe, however, you have rationalized the situation and made up excuses, concluding that you can be an exception. You wouldn’t recommend anybody else to do what you are doing.

The worst thing that you can do, however, is to begin to think that you are the exception to the rule. For the devil will come alongside and say that you are different, that you can associate with wrong company. Then, before you know it, you are in a trap.

It is a wonderful thing to realize that God delivers us from bad company.

Maybe you are in a situation where you are being wrongly influenced, and as a consequence you have lost the sense of inner peace. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But bad company causes you to lose the peace that God wants you to have. I ask you, are you in the grip of bad company?

Excerpted from Higher Ground (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1995).

I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. —Psalm 121:1-2

Why did the psalmist say these words? Firstly, it is possible that in a moment of temptation he was thinking, Shall I look to the hills like so many others are doing? Those who were worshiping Baal were increasing in number rapidly. Many were looking to the hills for help, so the psalmist pauses and asks: “Where does my help come from?” But he realizes his help does not come from the hills. Quite the opposite, in fact; his help comes from the Lord.

Secondly, it is possible that the writer was referring to the tradition of looking to mountains. There were those who, by looking to the mountains in the direction of Jerusalem, had a good feeling. For “the mountains surround Jerusalem” (Ps. 125:2)

Have you been wrestling with a problem of temptation from a certain direction, and you know that by looking in that direction, you are looking where temptation will be? Do you know the best way to prevent yourself from falling into sin? It is to keep from falling into temptation. Most of us have a fairly shrewd idea of what will tempt us. What may be my weakness may not be yours, and what may be yours may not be mine.

Perhaps you are looking to tradition for help. I think England is the most traditional country in the world. I sometimes thought Westminster Chapel was the most traditional church in England. Maybe you like tradition. But you can be so tied up in tradition that you never reach the Lord. You can come to church and get a good feeling. But that is just looking to the hills for reasons of tradition. Your good feeling may not be from the Lord at all.

In any case, whether we look because of temptation or tradition, the psalmist says, “[Our] help comes from the Lord,” not the mountains.

Excerpted from Higher Ground (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1995).

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied. “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise not.” —2 Kings 2:9-10

You may have heard of the “Peter Principle”—an ingenious concept and quite true: everybody is promoted to the level of their incompetence. Either through death, ambition, or lack of good personnel, people are given a job that they can’t do. Often, due to pride or selfish ambition, a person is determined to gain promotion; they get it and celebrate. But eighteen months later, they have a nervous breakdown because they can’t cope. But, you see, when you operate within the sphere of your own anointing, it’s easy.

Once God has given you an anointing, you will always have it because “God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable” (Rom. 11:29).

The anointing that will be given to you—whatever it is—will put your faith to the test. The anointing may bring difficulties for you. It may lead you where you don’t want to go. You may have to go against personal desire. It may lead you to bless those whom you personally may not have chosen to bless.

If you know you have the anointing, even though you don’t have other little things, know that blessing from Him is worth more than all the money in the world. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it” (Matt. 13:45). What that means is, when you want the anointing more than anything in the world, you’ll do anything to get it because you want God’s blessing, just like Elisha who would not let Elijah out of his sight.

There’s a lesson here for all of us: if we want the blessing more than anything in the world, we can have it because our very desire will be testimony to God’s work in our hearts.

Excerpted from All’s Well That Ends Well (Authentic Media, 2005).