A Godly Response to Exhaustion, Pt. 3 — A ‘Time With God’ Devotion

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Transcript

Good morning. It’s my pleasure to start each morning with you and help you start your day right, because I’ve found in my own life that when I start my day in close fellowship with God, in step with His Holy Spirit, listening to what He has to say to me through the Bible, through His word. That my life then is the way it was supposed to be, the way God made it to be, because God is the one controlling it and directing it.

I hope you’re finding that in your own life as well, as we have these little times with God in the morning, I hope you use that to begin your day in good relationship with God in a way that is responsive to what He’s saying to you.

We’re talking this week about a Godly response to exhaustion, and we saw first of all that to stop and physically rest and rebuild is a godly response to exhaustion. God directed Elijah to do that. Not only that, but God built it into the way of life He intends for us when He gave us a Sabbath day, and He said 6 days are for work.

But one day is for complete rest.

And I encourage you to have one day each week where you’re not pressured by the demands and stresses of your life, where maybe you don’t answer the phone if you if that’s necessary for you to rest or don’t check your email, don’t be in touch, reachable.

But just to rest and you may have to let go even of some of the things that you do in order to accomplish that.

The second thing we said is that you need to come to the place of spiritual rest in your life, and that is something that can continue while you’re in the busyness of your activities, that you come to a place of inner peace and rest as you acknowledge that God is the one who will enable you to do what needs to be done, and you allow Him to lead your life.

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I want to suggest to you a third godly response to exhaustion is to share your inner burden with others. If you’re stressed out, if you’re feeling that you’re at the point of exhaustion, then allow others to encourage you. Do not try to stand alone in your life. That is not what God intends. The Bible is full of one another statements and God wants you to be a part of his family, not to stand on your own.

Share your inner burden with others

In Hebrews chapter 3, it says in verses 12 and 13, Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil unbelieving heart in falling away from the living God and listen to verse 13, but encourage one another day after day as long as it is still cold today, lest anyone of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin and over in chapter 10.

It tells us, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful, and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

So, let other people encourage you and for them to do that, you have to share with them how you’re struggling, how tired you are, how exhausted you are.

Let people know, don’t become a burden on people, always talking about the things that you’re down about, but neither should you avoid that. Let your close friends know, and if you are someone who knows that someone else is struggling and nearing exhaustion. Pick up the phone and encourage them. Pick up your pen and write them a note.

Open up your email program and send them an email. Think of some scriptures that you can use to encourage them and build them up.

I’m John North.

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