Unplug from the world
and plug into Christ.
Some people live hectic
and busy lives with no time for recharging. Our bodies can be compared to our
electronic devices that need to get charged every day so that they won’t
run-low and eventually die. Our bodies cannot function on go, go, go all the
time. We must have times that we are able to recharge. Not having regular times of recharging can lead to stress-related
issues such as high blood pressure, headaches, and insomnia.
God never intended for us to hustle and bustle
continually.
Serving God is a good
thing, but if you are at every
function at church, and are at church “serving” every time the church doors open-you will burn out! What you do
must be led by the Holy Spirit, not what everyone expects of you or what
everyone else is performing. Following what everyone else is doing, often can
get you into trouble. If you are “burning the candle” at both ends, some area
in your life will suffer- your relationships, your health, and even your mental
health.
Reflect and ponder: Are you too busy to take time to recharge? Not
sure? Are you frequently tired, easily frustrated/annoyed, have a short-fuse,
critical, feel tense/stress, have frequent headaches, or just can’t seem to
unwind? If you answered yes to just (3) of the above, chances are you are
needing to recharge more often.
Do you work a full-time job and serve full-time
at church? If you
answered yes, your life is out of balance and some area in your life is not
thriving. Ministry, occupational or even relationship burn-out will eventually
happen if you continue at the pace that you set for yourself. How can you recharge if you are either at
work or at church? How can you be the best husband, wife, father, or mother if
you are not recharged and “snapping” at everyone because you are tired,
resentful, and frustrated? How can you hear God and spend intimate time with
the Father if you’re too busy? If you are not recharging with the Father, you
will not be able to be your best.
Effective
ways to “Recharge Your Batteries:”
1. Learn to say, “No.” You can’t be everywhere and
be everything to everyone. Take time to say, “Yes,” to yourself. It’s okay to
take care of yourself!
2. Don’t overcommit yourself. Learn to balance
your life. If you are working full-time, coach baseball, serve at church,
attend a bible study group, are married and have children-your plate is already
full! Where is your time to recharge? Your body cannot sustain at that pace for
an extended period of time.
3. Find daily time to carve out for connecting
with God. You might say,” Well, I attend my bible study group or I attend
church, that’s all I need.” True, these things can help, but alone time with
the Father can bring stillness in your spirit and that brings refreshment to
you.
4. Have at least 30 minutes every day where you do
something YOU ENJOY that can be a walk in your neighborhood, watching something
funny on TV, reading a book, or taking a warm bubble bath.
5. Unplug from your social media and phone at
least 30 minutes before bed, an hour is preferable. Have times in the day or
after work where you leave your phone in another room so that you are not
obsessively checking who called, texted, retweeted your tweet, reposted your Facebook
post, or pinned something on your Pinterest. How can you recharge with all the
tweeting, texting, reposting, pinning, and checking emails?
6. Take time off as needed, whether it is a small
vacation, stay cation, half day, or an entire day to recharge and do things
that you enjoy. Life is meant to be enjoyed. If you too busy to take some time
off, your too busy!
MEDITATE ON THESE SCRIPTURES:
And on the seventh day God finished His work that
He done, and He rested on the seventh day from all of His work that He had
done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because God rested from
all His work that he had done. Genesis 2:2-3
Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so
that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11
