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PROGRAM D-7885
As we face the challenge of trying to keep our lives in a biblically balanced state, we have to be sure we’re making the right deposits into our lives, and that we’re not wasting our strength and energy by making foolish withdrawals. What is it in your life that drains your strength unnecessarily? If you could learn to plug up the energy leaks in your life, then you would have enough left to do what God has called you to do.
Here are five ways you may be draining your strength unnecessarily:
- Your strength is wasted when you try to do more than you can do.
God has not called us to be all things to all people. Do you have too many irons in the fire? Maybe you have a hard time saying “No.” Whatever it is that causes you to over-commit, you need to get this area under control. Learn to say “No.” “No” is not a four-letter word. Don’t let false guilt cause you to say yes when you should say no.
- Your strength is wasted when you have too much stuff.
Did you know that the more you have, the more energy it takes out of you? You can save a lot of energy by not accumulating so much stuff. You may not have to get rid of things, but rather change your attitude toward them. But consider this: Are you spending a lot of your energy on things?
- Your strength is wasted when you allow yourself to be negative.
Every time you get mired down in negative thoughts and words, you are wasting valuable energy and adding lots of stress to your life. We are to rejoice in the Lord always, and that means stay out of negative territory!
- Your strength is wasted when you try to control the uncontrollable.
Learn to let go of that over which you have no control. I’m often amazed at how much time and energy I waste over what I cannot control!
- Your strength is used up when your life is not disciplined.
Proverbs says that we die from lack of discipline. I believe that many of us are drained of energy because we refuse needed discipline in our lives. This means doing things you don’t want to do; it means making yourself establish good habits and schedules and sticking to them; it means denying yourself some things you really want. Discipline is never much fun, but it brings wonderful fruit. And one of those benefits is that it supplies us with energy to do important things.