Just exhausted?

Are you tired? 

Millions of Americans are coping with exhaustion. There are many underlying issues – the inability to ‘unplug’ from work and responsibilities for meaningful breaks, the phones we carry with us that keep us ‘on the alert’ for too many hours, a culture that floods us with information creating a sense of crisis even about those things we cannot control … well, you could probably add your own idea.

I am blessed by the ability to fall asleep in about 30 seconds. When I am on the road, I often find myself nodding in the mid-afternoon. I can fight it, but the best remedy is to find a rest stop, pull up under a shady tree, recline my seat, and drift into a 15-minute nap. Many find it hard to believe that I fall asleep in 10 seconds and wake up with no fatigue.

Unlike most mornings, today I realized that I'm tired! Last week was a high output time, quite enjoyable but a drain on my energy and I need time to recharge, something that does not happen quite as quickly these days as it once did! Being a ‘doer’ by nature, my inclination when I’m tired is to push harder.

However, God's wisdom teaches me that He creates ‘rest stops’ and invites us to find renewal – even while He leads us to be steady, faithful, and to pace ourselves while we wait on His will to be revealed.

Isaiah was inspired to give us these words, mostly likely familiar to you, but rich in promise and hope. "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:28-31, NIV)

Fatigue can be dangerous! As I mentioned, I get tired when I’m on the road. IF I push myself too long in that state of drowsiness, when I’m nodding off, I am risking real injury to myself or others because of my lack of alertness. It’s just plain dumb to try to deny the reality.

Friend, when we are tired, we can say cruel things, reach wrong conclusions, making a wreck of life.
When we are exhausted, we are much more likely to experience the tug of temptation as we see what looks like certain relief in things we know are not in the will of God for us. 
When we're really exhausted, we might even become open to the lie that God does not care, that He is not listening.

Pull over! Take a break!

Our American culture presses us to work harder, to keep the lights on well into the night. It’s almost a badge of honor to be exhausted. God invites us to a different way. He says that "those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength." (Isaiah 40:31, NIV)

That phrase is translated in various ways in different Bible versions. In place of 'hope,' some translations say 'wait.' Others say 'trust.' The Hebrew of the original text being expectation, anticipation; hence to “wait hopefully!” Since that is God's counsel, we would be wise to let it speak to us, wouldn't we?

Are you exhausted – mentally, physically, or spiritually? There’s no shame in admitting it.

Find a rest stop and 'wait' for Him.’ 
Learn how to step away for an afternoon to refocus, taking a break where you find a quiet place with God’s Spirit.

Let me add this caution. While entertainment and distractions can be great for us and wonderful fun, there is a difference to be found in real rest, in turning it all over to the Lord, and taking a real rest. It is not something many of us do naturally, but anyone can learn to have a ‘quiet heart.’  How?

1.       Schedule regular time for contemplative prayer, time when you are silent before the Lord.

2.       Turn off the technology for an hour every day; no phone, no noise, no TV – just alone.

3.       Make worship a faithful habit, relearning the “Sabbath” principle taught by the Scripture.

4.       Turn your attention to others. Surprised? So much of what we do is centered on our own agenda, our hidden need to feel ‘successful.’  Regularly serving in a way that has no benefit to us but gives time and attention to others is amazingly renewing.

The birthright of the Christian is ‘abundant life’ not exhaustion! Refuse the lie that you must ‘do more’ or ‘work harder’ or go ‘somewhere to retreat’ before you can rest. Make time to ‘wait on the Lord’ and I can assure you from experience - there will be 'fresh strength!'  Isaiah beautiful picture is that of an eagle that soars on the air currents under his wings.

“Spirit of God, may your gentle Wind blow over me, helping me to rise up, to soar when others sink.”

Happy Father's Day

Tomorrow is Father's Day. A few voices raise their objections to the celebration of fathers, claiming that it only perpetuates harmful traditions that turn men into tyrants and forces them to be emotionally repressed in a role as breadwinner and protector. To that I say, “really?” with some scorn.
Dads need to celebrated. Sure, there are men who do not do a good job of nurturing their families. There are a few who abuse their place and misuse their influence. But millions are doing their best to fill a unique place in their family. I was blessed with a good father and Father's Day is happy occasion for me—a day filled with pleasant memories and grateful tributes to the man who was not perfect but was and remains a powerful shaper of my life and values.

God included this command among the Ten Commandments: "Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you." (Exodus 20:12, NLT)

Being a Dad is not a job for cowards, is it? It's hard to know when to be firm and when to be tender, when to put your arms around your child and when to apply discipline. It's difficult to know when to give directions and when to step back and let them learn on their own.

We begin the journey of fatherhood staring at the evidence of pregnancy in our wife and we wonder what in the world we've gotten ourselves into and what new challenges we face. Then in a moment when that tiny bit of humanity is placed in our arms, we are overwhelmed with love. How clearly do I remember that moment on February 10, 1977, when my first son was handed to me in a hospital room and I wept- tears that spoke of the love I felt and the terror of a whole new role in adulthood! A life depended on ME!

When that first day of school rolls around and they climb onto the school bus we suddenly realize that someday this child we love will leave us behind. By seventh grade, stormy moments make us think that tomorrow will not be too soon!

The teenage years are amazing for fathers who stay engaged. Herding cats comes to mind. Despite our best efforts, our kids often do what they want, sometimes rebelling simply because they can. Many dads spend those years wondering where they went wrong.

Then come the big decisions—college, career, marriage, and buying that first car. We feel pride, mixed with fear, because we know disappointment is inevitable. We don't want our grown children—the ones we still think of as "our kids"—to feel the same hurt we all know, yet we also realize that they will and they must if they are to grow in fully productive adults.

Here's one thing I've learned about fatherhood, for whatever it's worth:

Your child—whether four, fourteen, or twenty-four—doesn't need a man who knows it all or who is flawless. They don't need someone issuing decrees from some lofty throne of authority. That child – be she 4, 14, 24, or 44 - needs a coach—someone watching carefully over her, who prays for her, and helps to develop character, faith, and wisdom.

Dads who have an inflated sense of their own importance, who demand subservience, are fools! They bark out orders and demand things from their children that they themselves refuse to do.

They say foolish things like, "Who taught you to talk like that?" while cursing like a sailor in the garage when things go wrong.

They tell their son, "Go to church with your mother. It's important," and take off for another weekend at hunting camp.

They emotionally disengage from their children because "their Mom takes care of that stuff," and then wonder "Why doesn't he talk with me?"

Life Coach dads take up the hard work of showing the way.  They say, without pride, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1)

Life Coach dads understand that values are more often caught than taught. They don't compartmentalize their faith. They allow their children to see not only their successes, but also their failures. They admit when they don't have all the answers. They demonstrate that they need mentors and that they need God. They show their children that doing what honors God is sometimes costly—but always right.

Life Coach dads model grace by practicing it. They are confessing their sins to God and admit their mistakes to their children. They love even when it is undeserved because they know their own need of God’s forgiveness and grace.

Life Coach dads teach generosity of spirit by giving themselves, their time, and their resources to others and to the Lord. They do not hold grudges, refuse to seek first place, and quickly forgive as they know they are forgiven.

Just about anyone can become a biological father. It takes courage, endurance, wisdom, and the daily help of the Holy Spirit to become a real Dad.

I am now in the stage of life where I stand aside, an occasional advisor to my own children whose successes have exceeded my own!  I did not do it all exactly right in years past, but by the grace of God they arrived at adulthood intact and now are productive members of their own communities. All in all, I breathe a prayer of gratitude – “Thank You, Lord, for being faithful to me, to them.”

A word from the Word says – “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.”  (Ephesians 6) And from Hebrews –  “Our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” (12)

Happy Father's Day.

Stay hopeful!

A long conversation with a friend yesterday circled around a much misused and misunderstood core doctrine of Christianity – the Second Coming of Christ. When I was a child hearing of Jesus’ return was not so much a source of hope, but a reason for fear. What I heard was “you better be ready or you will get left behind.”  In that era, many Bible-believing Christians chose to retreat from ‘the world’ into their own isolated communities as they prepared for a Great Tribulation.

The book, The Late Great Planet Earth (Hal Lindsey), as well as the apocalyptic writing of a man named Salem Kirban fueled feverish visions of the judgment to come when Christians were caught up in the Rapture to be with Christ.

The tragedy for me at least was that when the hype faded and the fever cooled what should have been a doctrine of great hope was ignored and marginalized. The speculation of teachers mixed with the truth of Scripture diluted a key truth into a mere curiosity.

In the letter of 1 Thessalonians Paul urges us to take hope from the promise inspired make a difference here on earth for God's sake even as we are steadied by the sure promise of our King’s return! The Blessed Hope of Christ’s ‘Kingdom Come’ will infuse us with courage and gives us reason to serve and love in Christ's name through dark times and great difficulties. Why?

Because we know that even death itself cannot steal our reward. Our destiny is not a grave. Even if our voice falls silent here on this earth in death, we will shout with the saints when we are gathered 'round the Throne of God! Each chapter of 1 Thessalonians closes with a reference to the promise of Christ's return.

The apostle tells us to stay hopeful because our Lord has not left us to fate. He is working out His will in us, building His kingdom through us, and will come for us in the moment chosen in the will of God, the Father. Paul does not see the return of Christ as a reason for fear or dread at all! He takes great hope from that promise. "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, NLT)

Who among us has not felt a sense of despair at one time or another, when our lives seem to be without purpose, a random mix of good and bad days, victories and defeats?  We experience sorrow when we or a family member is laid low by disease, or when divorce destroys a marriage, or when economic security disappears because of circumstances beyond our control.

Sometimes the darkness is inside of us - a recurring depression, a sinful habit that threatens to overwhelm us, or fear of some undefined nature.

Paul reminds us multiple times in that letter of both the certainty of God’s justice and our own salvation.
1.  We “wait for His Son from Heaven… who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (1.10)
2. “For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes?” (2.19)
3. “May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” (3.13)
4. “For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep (died) in Him.” (4.14)
5. “You know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.” (5.2)

Paul encouraged those first century Believers as well as you and me by assuring us that our Lord has not left us to fate. He is working out His will in us, building His kingdom through us, and will come for us in the moment chosen in the will of God, the Father. Paul does not see the return of Christ as a reason for fear or dread at all! He takes great hope from that promise.

Christian friend don’t let foolish speculation, complex prophecy charts, or even the long delay of the Promise to rob you of your hope - a hope based not on wealth, health, or sunny days- but rather on the coming Kingdom of God.

Pray for wisdom in dealing with the challenges, for restored perspective on current events, for the power of the Spirit to overcome the Enemy, and for faith to remain faithful!

The word from the Word is a call to faith. Hear it. Live it. “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3)

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