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Where do you get the strength you need to love others and to keep from being burned-out and frayed around the edges all too often? I’ve examined what you need to deposit into your energy bank account so you are not living an out-of-balance life.
A.W. Tozer once say, “Shakespeare said something to the effect that no man could be a philosopher when he had a toothache! While it is possible to be a weary saint, it is scarcely possible to be weary and feel saintly.”[1]
When your body is not in the best condition, either from sickness or fatigue, your strength can fail. That’s why it’s important to be a good steward of your body, doing everything you can to keep it strong and vital.
Now, let’s talk about the things which drain our energy. First, there are the inescapable drains on our energy, such as getting up in the morning, children, mates, family, housework, jobs. But many times, we expend energy, even in these areas, unnecessarily. Let’s identify a few of the foolish things that often drain our strength:
- Your strength is used up when you try to do more than you can do. God has not called you to be all things to all people.
Jesus was careful where he went to minister. He didn’t try to go to every city; he didn’t heal every sick person; he didn’t preach to everyone on the face of the earth. Yet he could say at the end of a very short three-year ministry that he had accomplished what his father sent him to do.
Have you got too many irons in the fire? Are you trying to prove something to yourself by taking on too much? Or perhaps, like me, you just have so much you want to do you can’t resist. Maybe you have a hard time saying “No.” Whatever causes you to over-commit, you need to get this area under control.
- Your strength is used up when you have too much stuff. Did you know the more you have, the more energy it takes out of you?
Cleaned your closets out lately? Might be a good idea. A home or apartment full of valued “treasures” can be a real drainer of energy. Now I’m not suggesting we can’t have things we enjoy, but the question is, do you enjoy them or are they just sapping your time and energy?
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[1] Tozer, A. W. (n.d.). Taking Time to Rest. SermonIndex.net. https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=5278