S4 E21 - God Doesn't Get Overstimulated

When you become a parent, it's easy to get overstimulated by the end of the day. Constantly being asked questions, touched, etc. Same goes for teachers, btw. I saw a video where a kindergarten teacher was asked a question or had her name said by students to get her attention 627 times! What keeps them from burnout? Why do they do it? Because they love their kids, and love their students. 

It makes you wonder...does God get overstimulated? The short answer is no. Even though his name is envoked millions of times a day, nothing is impossible for God - nor is anything too exhausting. But why does God do it? For the same reasons a parent or teacher would: because he loves his children. So don't be afraid to go to him. Ask. Seek. Knock. 

#SetYourMindAbovePodcast

Transcript

What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day? 

What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths? Would you believe me? 

 Welcome back to season 4 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! My name is BJ Sipe, and I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father. And I’m excited to share a few moments together with you learning some important lessons from the simplest things. Thanks for tuning in! 

Overstimulation is something that all of us face from time to time, isn’t it? Too much noise, too many things happening, or too close of proximity to others without an end in sight can send even the most laid back of individuals into somewhat of a panic. If you are a parent, especially if you are a mother, then overstimulation is something that you likely experience on a daily basis in some form or fashion. Now that the older two kids are in school, my wife being at home with just our two-year-old has felt like almost like our pre-kid days. The house is so much quieter, her name is said 100 times less a day, and she is not constantly being pulled in three directions all the time. She is far less overstimulated than the days where we had all three of them home from sunup to sundown. Sometimes I would get little glimpses into her day when I would be home with all three while she was on a trip or out for a girls day, and it’s amazing as a parent how frequently you are called upon – it’s relentless. “Dad, can I do this? Dad, can I have that? Dad, watch this! Dad, Dad, Dad…” Several hours into the day, you find yourself wondering, “How many times have I heard my name today already? And it’s only 9 am!”  

Now that’s just with three children at home, what about an elementary school teacher? One of my good friends Kylie Cooper who teaches the 5th grade at Woodlawn Elementary School here in Danville sent me a reel last night of a teacher who decided to find out. She brought a clicker with her to her kindergarten class, and every time her name was said or she was asked a question, she would push the clicker. The results blew my mind. In less than an hour, she had already hit 100. At 10:20, it was 196. At lunchtime around 12:15, 338. Finally, by the end of the day her name had been said or she had been asked a question 627 times! When you stop to think about that, that is so overwhelming! Could you look forward to getting up each day knowing you’re going to be asked over 600 questions all over again? How do teachers do it day in and day out without burning out? How does my wife do it with our kids day in and day out without getting burnt out? Really, the answer is simple: because they love the children they are serving. Sure, it can be overstimulating at times and all moms and all teachers need a break and need time to reset, but they willingly get up and do it all over again because it’s what they want to do. My wife absolutely loves her time with our children, loves caring for them, and loves serving them as they are dependent upon her. The same can be said for the teachers that work tirelessly to supplement our children’s education away from home. They view their classroom as their own kids, and each day they love teaching and devoting themselves to 20 or 30 kids at a time. Sure, by the end of the day they are exhausted and need to rest, but it's not the paycheck that gets them up to do it all over again the next day, it’s the kids themselves. They do it for the kids, and getting to do for them fills up their hearts. 

As I reflected on these things, I started to wonder…do you think God ever gets overstimulated? Of course, the ultimate answer is no – and we’ll come back to that in a moment, but if you think we get overstimulated…goodness. We won’t get into all of the symbolism behind the language, but we read the following in Revelation 5:8, “When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and golden bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” These beings approached the throne of God and presented to him all of the prayers of the saints, which appeared as incense before God (see Psalm 141:2). Just stop to think about that for a moment…how many times a day does God have his name invoked, or is he asked something from one of his children? I’ll tell you right now, it’s far more than 600 times a day. Day in and day out, our Savior is petitioned and called upon by millions and millions – asking, entreating, begging, wanting. From the perspective of just a mere man, such a task is utterly impossible. But to cite the Lord himself in Matthew 19:26, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” The first lesson I want us to understand is this: God is strong enough, powerful enough, and far beyond capable of us casting our cares upon him. I know personally at times I have struggled with my prayer life, thinking that I don’t want to “pester” God any more than I already have. But here’s the deal – God does not get overstimulated. I can go to him a hundred times a day, as can every other person in this entire world, and he would hear and know our every request without growing tired or weary. God does not have to “reset” or take time off from his children like we do as mere people. So, don’t ever hesitate to ask, and don’t ever hesitate to call upon his name. 

But that still leaves us wondering…why? Why does God do it all? Listen day in and day out to the cares, questions, and pleas of millions of voices all vying for his attention, affection, comfort, and care? This is the second thing we need to understand, and the “why” for God is the same “why” that drives a parent or drives a teacher to serve their children: because they love them, and they love to serve them. Peter lays this out clearly for us in the fifth chapter of his first epistle. We read in vv. 6-7, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.” This admonition applies to every living soul upon this earth – every man, woman, and child can cast their every single care upon the Creator of this universe – no matter how great or how small. It is an open invitation for all time for mortal to approach the divine. But why? Why is God willing to be bombarded with every care and concern of his creation at every waking moment without end? Very simply put – it is because he loves us, and he loves to serve his creation. The image God wants us to have of his relationship towards us is not that of one who begrudgingly “gets up” each morning dreading all the voices that are already clamoring for him, but rather that of us being the very motivation and reason God does what he does. He is our loving Father, and he wants to hear from his children. Let us conclude with the words of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 7:7-11, “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.” 

This has been the Set Your Mind Above Podcast, season 4 episode 21 – and I’m so thankful that you decided to tune in today! A new episode is dropped most Fridays, so be sure to tune in next week.  Also, if you’re able to, go ahead and like and subscribe to the podcast, as well as share it with someone else – it would help me greatly in trying to reach others. And more than anything, always remember the following: know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.