Have You Felt That Insidious Pressure to Perform?
A poor man plodded toward home, bent under a heavy sack of potatoes. A wagon drew up beside him. “Climb aboard,” the driver said. The man climbed into the wagon, dragging his burden with him. He sat but continued to hold the heavy sack. “Set your bag down and enjoy the ride,” the driver urged.
“I don’t want to trouble you too much, sir. You’re carrying me. I’ll carry the potatoes,” he said.
We may chuckle at the man’s foolishness and yet secretly wish laying down the burden of ministry and the people we shepherd was that easy. The Bible says, “Cease striving and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 NASB 1995). But what does that mean? How do we “cease striving” when responsibilities and expectations continue to mount?
How the Pressure to Perform Crept Into My Ministry
I joined a parachurch youth ministry out of college eager to change the world for Christ. I fit right into our workaholic team of singles. We started early and ended late. Of course, we spent Sundays teaching Sunday school and helping with youth groups. When a student invited me to join her family for a night of bowling, I couldn’t find a free night in my schedule.
“I never want to live like that,” she said.
For the first time I questioned my hyper work ethic. When the seminary student I dated gently pointed out that my life seemed out of balance, I knew he was right. But I didn’t know how to change.
How Unmet Expectations Exposed My Pressure to Perform
God used marriage to uncover my skewed perspective. Before marriage, I spent evenings with the students in our ministry. After marriage, I wanted to be with my husband who ran our local team as well as oversaw teams in other states. Sometimes I traveled with him. I enjoyed this—until I had to fill out my ministry forms. Writing zeros in the columns on my weekly report churned my stomach. There were no columns for encouraging your husband or fellow missionaries.
In my desire to be a fruitful Christian, I had unknowingly come to equate a certain level of performance with faithfulness to God. The low numbers in my columns became the measure of my worth. Guilt wedged its way in between me and God. Who enjoys hanging out with someone you think is disappointed in you?
What Scripture Says About the Pressure to Perform
One morning God arrested my attention with Galatians 3:1-3 (NIV):
“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?”
These words jolted me. I’d done nothing to earn God’s love. Jesus’ performance, not mine, was the basis of my acceptance and righteousness before God. His Word, not a ministry report, settled the matter.
Learning to Let Go of the Pressure to Perform
Striving is the opposite of resting in the finished work of Christ for our worth and security. Striving says to God, “You may accept me on the basis of what Christ did for me, but I won’t accept myself unless I meet my or other people’s standards.”
My painful stripping provided a life-saving lesson. The pressure I felt to please people, rescue the suffering, and satisfy my own and others’ standards led to striving. I had to stop living the Christian life by self-effort and learn to let Jesus express His life through me. I had to learn the difference between being faithful and being responsible.
Are You Faithful—Or Just Responsible?
I learned:
- Being faithful is doing my best in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.
- Being responsible is taking responsibility for results—or outcomes—beyond my resources and control.
God calls us to be faithful stewards. If, like the man carrying his heavy sack of potatoes, you’ve become weary in ministry, ask God to uncover the pressures that keep you from resting in His faithfulness. What burden have you been reluctant to totally release into His care? In light of Jesus’ words below, what must you do to release that pressure to perform and receive rest?
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV).
Debbie W. Wilson and her husband Larry cofounded and run Lighthouse Ministries, a non-profit biblical counseling and Bible teaching ministry. Drawing from her personal walk with Christ, twenty-four years as a Christian counselor, and decades as a Bible teacher, Debbie speaks and writes to connect fellow sojourners to the heart of Christ. Find free resources, connect with Debbie, and learn about her books, including Give Yourself a Break and Little Strength, Big God, at debbieWwilson.com.
