Embracing Human Frailty in Spiritual Leadership
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"Fits of depression come over the most of us. Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down. The strong are not always vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous, and the joyous not always happy. There may be here and there men of iron to whom wear and tear work no perceptible detriment, but surely the rust frets even these, and as for ordinary men, the Lord knows and makes them to know that they are but dust." [00:00:22]
"Knowing by most painful experience what deep depression of spirit means, being visited there with its Seasons by no means few or far between, I thought it might be consolatory to some of my brethren if I gave my thoughts thereon, that younger men might not fancy that some strange thing had happened to them when they became for a season possessed by melancholy." [00:01:00]
"Good men are promised tribulation in this world, and ministers may expect a larger share than others, that they may learn sympathy with the Lord's suffering people and so may be fitting Shepherds of an ailing flock. Disembodied Spirits might have been sent to proclaim the word, but they could not have entered into the feelings of those who, being in this body, do groan being burdened." [00:03:56]
"These infirmities may be no detriment to a man's career of spiritual usefulness; they may even have been imposed upon him by Divine wisdom as necessary qualifications for his peculiar course of service. Some plants owe their medicinal qualities to the marsh in which they grow; others to the shades in which alone they flourish." [00:06:30]
"Our work, when earnestly undertaken, lays us open to attacks in the direction of depression. Who can bear the weight of souls without sometimes sinking to the dust? Passionate longings after men's conversion, if not fully satisfied—and when are they?—consume the soul with anxiety and disappointment." [00:09:05]
"It is our duty and our privilege to exhaust our lives for Jesus. We are not to be living specimens of men in fine preservation, but living sacrifices, whose lot is to be consumed. We are to spend and be spent, not to lay ourselves up in lavender and nurse our flesh." [00:10:39]
"A minister fully equipped for his work will usually be a Spirit by himself, above, beyond, and apart from others. The most loving of his people cannot enter into his peculiar thoughts, cares, and temptations. In the ranks, men walk shoulder to shoulder with many comrades, but as the officer rises in rank, men of his standing are fewer in number." [00:11:27]
"Periods of great success or intense spiritual activity can also lead to subsequent depression. After the high of spiritual victories, a natural emotional and physical letdown often follows. This is a divine mechanism to keep us humble and reliant on God rather than on our achievements." [00:17:24]
"Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength. Look at the mower in the summer's day, with so much to cut down ere the sun sets. He pauses in his labor; is he a sluggard? He looks for his stone and begins to draw it up and down his scythe with a rink-a-tink, rink-a-tink, rink-a-tink." [00:24:41]
"To tug the oar from day to day like a galley slave who knows no holidays suits not mortal men. Streams go on and on forever, but we must have our pauses and our intervals. Who can help being out of breath when the race is continued without intermission? Even beasts of burden must be turned out to grass occasionally." [00:25:54]
"Let no tender conscience doubt the lawfulness of going out of harness for a while, but learn from the experience of others the necessity and duty of taking timely rest. One crushing stroke has sometimes laid the minister very low. The brother most relied upon becomes a traitor; Judas lifts up his heel against the man who trusted him." [00:27:08]
"Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are. When your own emptiness is painfully forced upon your consciousness, chide yourself that you ever dreamed of being full, except in the Lord. Set small store by present rewards; be grateful for earnests by the way, but look for the recompensing joy hereafter." [00:40:06]
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"Knowing by most painful experience what deep depression of spirit means, being visited there with its Seasons by no means few or far between, I thought it might be consolatory to some of my brethren if I gave my thoughts thereon, that younger men might not fancy that some strange thing had happened to them when they became for a season possessed by melancholy." [00:01:00]
"Good men are promised tribulation in this world, and ministers may expect a larger share than others, that they may learn sympathy with the Lord's suffering people and so may be fitting Shepherds of an ailing flock. Disembodied Spirits might have been sent to proclaim the word, but they could not have entered into the feelings of those who, being in this body, do groan being burdened." [00:03:56]
"These infirmities may be no detriment to a man's career of spiritual usefulness; they may even have been imposed upon him by Divine wisdom as necessary qualifications for his peculiar course of service. Some plants owe their medicinal qualities to the marsh in which they grow; others to the shades in which alone they flourish." [00:06:30]
"Our work, when earnestly undertaken, lays us open to attacks in the direction of depression. Who can bear the weight of souls without sometimes sinking to the dust? Passionate longings after men's conversion, if not fully satisfied—and when are they?—consume the soul with anxiety and disappointment." [00:09:05]
"It is our duty and our privilege to exhaust our lives for Jesus. We are not to be living specimens of men in fine preservation, but living sacrifices, whose lot is to be consumed. We are to spend and be spent, not to lay ourselves up in lavender and nurse our flesh." [00:10:39]
"A minister fully equipped for his work will usually be a Spirit by himself, above, beyond, and apart from others. The most loving of his people cannot enter into his peculiar thoughts, cares, and temptations. In the ranks, men walk shoulder to shoulder with many comrades, but as the officer rises in rank, men of his standing are fewer in number." [00:11:27]
"Periods of great success or intense spiritual activity can also lead to subsequent depression. After the high of spiritual victories, a natural emotional and physical letdown often follows. This is a divine mechanism to keep us humble and reliant on God rather than on our achievements." [00:17:24]
"Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength. Look at the mower in the summer's day, with so much to cut down ere the sun sets. He pauses in his labor; is he a sluggard? He looks for his stone and begins to draw it up and down his scythe with a rink-a-tink, rink-a-tink, rink-a-tink." [00:24:41]
"To tug the oar from day to day like a galley slave who knows no holidays suits not mortal men. Streams go on and on forever, but we must have our pauses and our intervals. Who can help being out of breath when the race is continued without intermission? Even beasts of burden must be turned out to grass occasionally." [00:25:54]
"Let no tender conscience doubt the lawfulness of going out of harness for a while, but learn from the experience of others the necessity and duty of taking timely rest. One crushing stroke has sometimes laid the minister very low. The brother most relied upon becomes a traitor; Judas lifts up his heel against the man who trusted him." [00:27:08]
"Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are. When your own emptiness is painfully forced upon your consciousness, chide yourself that you ever dreamed of being full, except in the Lord. Set small store by present rewards; be grateful for earnests by the way, but look for the recompensing joy hereafter." [00:40:06]
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