Where do we get the strength we need to give to others as we want to, to keep from being burned-out and frayed around the edges all too often?
Shakespeare said something to the effect that no man could be a philosopher when he had a toothache! A. W. Tozer puts it: "While it is possible to be a weary saint, it is scarcely possible to be weary and feel saintly."
When our bodies are not in the best condition, either from sickness or fatigue, our strength can fail us. That's why we must be good stewards of the bodies we have, doing everything we can to preserve them and keep them vital.
Now, let me point out some 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:
- Our strength is used up when we try to do more than we can do.
God has not called us 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 had sent Him to do.
Have you got too many irons in the fire? Are you trying to prove something to yourself by being all things to all people? Or perhaps, like me, you just have so much you want to do that you can't resist. Maybe you have a hard time saying "No." Whatever it is that causes you and me to over-commit, we need to get this area under control.
2. Our strength is used up when we have too much stuff.
Did you know that the more you have, the more energy it takes out of you? Cleaned your closet out lately? Might be a good idea. A home or apartment full of valued "treasures" is a real drainer of energy. Now I'm not suggesting we can't have things that we enjoy, but the question is, do you enjoy them or are they just sapping your time and energy?
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