Weariness Is Wearing Me Out!

Weariness nears epidemic status in today’s world. Everywhere I go I meet people who are running on empty. Rarely do I meet an individual who says, “Wow! I feel great!”

I am certainly no icon of physical fitness or robust health, but I have learned that life is best lived rested. Too much, too long, too hard are generally signs that we need to recalibrate. Though weariness cannot be avoided—that would constitute a wrong goal—all weariness does not fit into the same category.

Let me explain.

Healthy Reasons for Weariness:

Seeing a challenging job completed with excellence

Staying up several nights in a row night with a teething baby

Investing in the tumultuous life of a teen

Helping a grade school child follow through with a complicated assignment

Concluding a community, church or ministry project

Extending hospitality for a lengthy season to guests in one’s home

Unhealthy Reasons for Weariness:

Saying ‘yes’ when I should say ‘no’

Habitually watching a device too long in the evening

Chatting glibly on social media

Reading a book or magazine past bedtime

Agreeing to guilt commitments that drain the lifeblood from my valid commitments

Neglecting physical exercise

Living with unresolved conflict with one’s spouse

Making a mental diet of a problematic situation or relationship

Three simple suggestions one can implement today which have potential to turn weariness around:

Spend time with Jesus:

“Come to Me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). This sounds like a spiritual spa experience, but too often we overlook the supernatural power of consistently spending time alone in His Presence. To stand under the waterfall of His grace works wonders even when nothing else in life changes.

Spend time outside:

Fresh air is a gift to our psyche and it is nearby, uncomplicated, and economical. Don't overthink this; just spend time outdoors for refreshment.

Spend time under the covers:

A good night’s sleep is always at the top of the list. Go to bed earlier than usual for several nights in a row, and tell weariness to take a hike.

 Living With Eternal Intentionality™

Where in your life are your experiencing a healthy reason for weariness?

Likewise, where in your life do you discern an unhealthy reason for weariness?

What one step forward is needed for both situations?

Jesus says, “I have come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly, that it might be full and meaningful” (John 10:10). How does this take weariness into account?

What Are You Doing Here?

God asks Elijah a question: What Are You Doing Here?  Pushing past the centuries you and I ask, "Do we see ourselves in the story?"

From Faith to Fear

The characters—God, Elijah, Ahab, and Jezebel—draw us into this drama in I Kings 19:10-22. After a supernatural occurrence in chapter 18 where Elijah demonstrates heroic, victorious faith on Mount Carmel, he flees in fear to the desert and prays that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord…Take my life.” Gripped with fear, his faith melts, and he falls asleep. 

From God the Caterer

Within the narrative, we see the tender grace of God displayed as He supernaturally caters food and water right in the middle of the desert to meet the physical needs in Elijah’s life. (The ministry of food and sleep are real in the life of a child of God. Sometimes all we need is a nourishing meal and a restorative night’s sleep.)

Moving on…

From the Desert to the Cave

With more sleep and the second helping, so to speak, Elijah journeys forty days—forty days farther away from his enemies Jezebel and Ahab—and into a cave where he spends the night.

Then comes the question: What are you doing here, Elijah? God pursues His servant and poses the inquiry, because Elijah is not where God wants him to be.

Bring this forward to our own lives…

If honest, you and I have to admit that, yes, we do see ourselves in the story. I suggest that within each of us resides an Elijah:

Fear and fatigue contaminate our perspective of our situation.

Fear and fatigue drive us to places we should not go.

Fear and fatigue alter our perspective of God.

And yet, Elijah’s God is our God as well, and He meets us wherever we are. In a desert of discouragement and despair, or in a cave of fear, chaos and confusion, God joins us.

But the game changer is our response.

We are given the choice to stay where we are or to listen to the Voice of God and go back. When I acknowledge that I am not where God wants me to be—in a relationship, a pastime, a purchase, a perspective, a financial decision, or even a habit—I need to choose to go back to the center of God’s will, and under the protection of His Wings. 

Elijah had to answer God's direct question with intentional action. So do we.

Living With Eternal Intentionality™

Questions we find in Scripture arrest my attention. Over time, I invite you to journey with me through a series we will call “Classic Questions.” This blog post entry launched our first: What Are You Doing Here? (I Kings 19:10-22)

• When do you last remember being in a place where you did not need to be?
• How did you answer God's Classic Question: What are you doing here?
• What was the outcome?

What If I Told You Your Morning Matters?

The delicious sunshine drew me outdoors for an afternoon walk. Upon returning, as per habit, I retrieved the mail. A fascinating article in a magazine I received contained several insights, and I want to share the findings with you.

From a previous post, The Making of a Morning, you are already aware that I place high priority on mornings. Manage your morning and you will manage your day stays with me as I march from one decade to another, because I believe mornings are disproportionately important in giving meaning to one’s life.

Thus, after mulching over three of the seventeen highlights in this REAL SIMPLE April 2018 Remake your mornings, article by Jessica Migala, I determined to pass the information on to you. Please read and offer your feedback; I am interested to know what you think. (For me, just so you know, I am especially fixated with the third highlight.)

When You Open Your Eyes… Practice a Pep Talk.

“Your thoughts significantly impact your energy levels for the day,” says psychologist Elizabeth Lombardo, PhD, author of Better Than Perfect. If you could hold a microphone to you brain when you first wake up, what would it say? “It's too early.” “I'm so stressed.” Flip the script to something more positive: “Today, xyz is going to bring me joy.” If you need a reminder, stick a note to your nightstand—it’s that important.

When You Get Up… Open The Shades.

Natural light flips your brain’s switch from sleepy to awake, says Sabra Abbott, MD, PhD, a neurologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. “There is nothing better than sunlight,” she says. What’s more, a study published in the journal Sleep Health found that morning light exposure can help you snooze more soundly later that night, so you’ll likely feel better the next morning (and the next). If the sun’s rays are not an option because it’s still dark out, second best is turning on the lights to get as much bright light in the room as possible.

Stressful Emails

Even a five-minute phone check can suck you in, draining your mental energy, notes Julie Morgenstern (author of Time Management from the Inside Out). “Technology is constantly trying to pull you off course. If you start your day on your device, you’re starting it out in a reactive way,” she says, adding that emails can set off your internal alarms. Claim your morning as yours, and keep your device off for the first hour you’re awake.

Living with Eternal Intentionality™

Is there an idea here that God wants to use to bring a breakthrough to your morning routine? If so, please elaborate.