How to Focus on What Matters
At the end of every podcast, we like to ask our guests to share what God has been teaching them in this season of life. This week’s guest is Jeff Henderson. See why he’s grateful to have God as his shield and how time in prayer is reminding him of how to focus on what matters.
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. - Psalm 119:105 NIV
So we just came off twenty-four hours of continuous prayer for our church. We asked everybody to sign up for just 30 minutes, for twenty-four hours starting yesterday at 9 a.m. And so for me, part of the way I used my 30 minutes was just reading through the Book of Psalms. And one of the things that really stood out to me is that God is my shield.
And you know, we want to practice self-distancing and self-isolation and all that. We're all for that. But I still have to leave, and you know, move forward, even though I have my own fears. And you're like, can I go outside for a walk? You know, how do I do this? I can't turn to anybody and say, “Hey, when you went through a global pandemic 20 years ago, what did you do?” There are no books on this necessarily. So for me, I felt like God said, hey, I'm your shield. Keep taking one day at a time.
And then the other thing that I feel like God has been asking me to do is to pray more for his glory than my relief. Because early on I was praying, God, get us out of this. God I know you can do a miracle. I know you can do it. You could be Thanos of The Avengers and you could snap your finger and this whole thing goes away. Right. (Even though Thanos was an evil character. Just go with me).
But what if there's a deeper play here? So I've had to really start shifting. Still pray God, I want this thing to go away. I believe you can do that. But if that's not what you want to happen, I want your glory to manifest in my leadership and in my family.
Then the other thing, too, is I can get drawn into work and somewhat forget my family. So I have to balance that right now. Right. I have to balance because you get the pressures and especially in a nonprofit. You know. What's giving like right now? And all the normal pressures that any organization’s leader has. But on this day, my family needs me just as much as the organization does.
And so I can’t lose that. I think being a shield. God as my shield. Praying for God's glory more than I pray for my relief. And ultimately, there's going to be another lead pastor at Gwinnett Church. But there will never be another of Wendy's first husband and father to Jessie and Cole. So I’m focused on those.