exhausted - Thoughts About God

Overload

Thoughts_About_God — Sun, 09 Jun 2024 08:01:33 +0000

“Are you tired? Worn out? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-29

The computer is second only to the refrigerator on my Important Machine list. My demands are relatively simple in contrast to those of my husband’s technological requirements—those facilitating communication, finances, record keeping, Power Point© and much more. My needs center around don’t-lose-what-I-write and send-that-email.

Because I was a whiz in that archaic high school class called typing, my fingers fly over the keyboard. My mind whirls with not only the next thought I wish to appear on the screen but also with the paragraphs that lie ahead in my imagination.

More frequently than I like, just in the middle of what I’m sure will become famous words to live by, a number of documents and folders begin flashing across my screen in lightning-like fashion. It seems that everything I’ve ever stored is being reproduced, one atop another. Tech experts tell me this problem is often caused by my expecting too much from the machine in front of me. It is overload. I cannot proceed with the scheduled writing task until I hit the “force quit” button, my computer is turned off, given a rest and then restarted.

Perhaps you felt that during the recent days, both your brain and body were in overload. Although you enjoyed being with family and you even had moments of beautiful worship in your church, there came the time when the tree needed to be undressed of its finery. the pine needles vacuumed, dust removed from the shelves that once held carved creche sets, and the bills paid. It is time to “force quit.”

I love the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases Jesus’ words: “Come to me…get away with me…walk with me…work with me…watch how I do it…keep company with me…” When thoughts and activities and even people are flashing across my life like lightning, it’s time to take the simple action Jesus prescribes and thus “learn to live freely and lightly.”

by Marilyn Ehle
Used by Permission

Burn Out Refill

Devotionals — Sun, 05 Jun 2022 08:03:43 +0000

If you don’t want to risk burnout think about how you can be refilled

Do you ever feel nearly burned out? Can’t really hum This Little Light of Mine with fervor at that moment? Yeah, I know the feeling.

One of my duties at church is to make sure the candles on the altar are filled with liquid wax/oil so they do not burn out during the service. Because it is hard to determine the amount of influence the AC vents will have on the burn rate Sunday to Sunday, we always “top them off”… just in case.

Today, as I squirted the liquid inside the cylinders, God spoke to me. “You are running low, Julie. You need to be filled anew. Let Me refill you.”

And I have been. I admit it. My light isn’t shining as brightly as it should because I have been dimmed by physical pain and a questioning of whether or not I have a secure employment future in this new year. Being a missionary is tough, especially when the funds don’t roll in.

Yes, I know…God provides. But lately my trust has slowly burned down to below normal levels. And that is when the devil can slip into the dark corners of the mind and begin to whisper doubts.

Today, my task at church reminded me of the parable of the bridesmaids in Matthew 25. The ones who kept their lamps primed with oil were the wise ones. They were always ready for the bridegroom.

As Christians, we should strive to always have our lamps filled so we are ready to shine when God calls upon us to do so– and to ward off the darkness where doubt, envy, and pouting lurks. When we shine our light brightly, it not only helps another to see the path but us as well. God illuminates us both, as well as others off to the side whom we may not notice are watching and wondering.

We can be refilled with the Holy Spirit through prayer and by meditating on His Word. If we don’t do so regularly, our levels of faith will drop. We will shine brightly for a while, but slowly start to flicker and dim. And when the time comes for God to use us, we may not have enough in reserve.

So, if you don’t want to risk burnout think about how you can constantly be refilled…just in case. Then ask the Lord to help refill you so you are always ready to shine

You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.” Psalm 18:28.

By Julie Cosgrove
|Used by Permission
From: https://wheredidyoufindgodtoday.com/

When We Feel Burned Out

Devotionals — Sun, 05 Jun 2022 08:01:08 +0000

Read:

Matthew 11:28-30

What emotions come to mind when you hear the words burden and burnout? These terms make us sigh, don’t they? In this fast-paced, overworked world, most of us have felt the tiring numbness of carrying too much on our shoulders, in our schedules, and on our minds.

Here are three ways a Christian should respond to these feelings:

Surrender to Christ

Jesus said to come to Him. There’s peaceful rest in surrendering our load to the Lord. His hands are large enough to hold anything and everything we need Him to handle. If we try to control and manage everything, we will wear ourselves out and eventually start dropping it all.

Depend on Christ

Jesus invites us to take His yoke and let Him bear our burdens. Although at first we may readily relinquish our concerns to the Lord, after a while we may try to take our burden back in an attempt to fix things ourselves. But by doing this, we interfere with the solution God wants to bring, and we end up wearing ourselves out once again.

The truth is that only God has both the power and perspective to bring all matters to their proper conclusion
(Romans 8:28).

Trust Christ

The Savior encourages us to learn from Him. As we fill our minds with the truth of His words, our trust in Him grows. His yoke will become easy, and we’ll see it as the safest and happiest place to be. When we know we never have to carry burdens alone, they get lighter.

What do you have to lose by coming to Jesus, taking His yoke, and learning from Him? Nothing but your burdens of exhaustion, stress, and anxiety.

By Dr. Charles Stanley
Used by Permission

A Prayer to Invite Christ Into Your Life

Here is a sample prayer that you can pray to invite Christ Jesus into your life and begin to give Him your burdens.

God, I believe that You created me to know You. Thank You for sending Your Son Jesus as a sacrifice to pay the penalty that I deserve. I believe that His death and resurrection has restored me to You. Please forgive me for everything that has offended You. Take first place in my life and help me become the person that You created me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.