When You Are Tired

One day my daughter sent her then five-year-old daughter to bring her something, don't recall what it was now, from the bedroom. Jen set off obediently then suddenly stopped and turned around.

"I'm tired," she declared, and came and sat down.

This unexpected response had me and her mother laughing.

We knew Jen wasn't tired. A five-year-old's energy supply doesn't get depleted that quickly despite hours of running, climbing and bouncing about. But adults are different. Even athletes who appear to have superhuman form get tired and must rest. If they don't rest, they risk reducing their performance levels and may even suffer injury.

Adults, athletes, and five-year-olds are all human. We get tired. But how about God? Psalm 121 tells us, "He neither slumbers nor sleeps" (v 4). But Jesus, when He walked this earth, became tired and often called His disciples away from the crowds so they could rest.

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest”(Mark 6 : 31).

He also taught,  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11: 28 -29).

God knows there are times when we need more than physical rest. We need rest for our mind, our soul and our spirit. When we come to Jesus, He gives us exactly the kind of rest we need. It's restorative, refreshing and redeeming. Do you need rest today? Take some time to talk to Jesus about it. Believe me, He hears. 

I can't think of a better song of restoration than the 23rd Psalm. Here it is being sung by the church choir at Whitney Houston's funeral. Enjoy!

Those Lazy Hazy Days Of Summer

Portrait of Nat King Cole, New York, N.Y. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Those of you who are old enough may recall a song by Nat Cole that went something like this: Roll out those lazy, hazy crazy days of summer ... For many of us, our summer may be anything but lazy. Even though the kids are out of school, we may pack so many activities into our schedule that we have very little time to rest.

Occasionally, on Sundays after church, I stop off at the supermarket to pick up something I'd forgotten. Today was one of those days. I was surprised at how crowded the place was. When I was growing up, Saturday was shopping day. Oh, I know things have changed. People work on Saturdays and even on Sundays, in some cases. Which brings me to the topic of rest. 

Seventh Day Adventists observe Saturday as the Sabbath, and they do nothing except go to church on that day. This is according to the third commandment which God gave to Moses in which He said, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" (Exodus 20: 8).We Christians who worship on Sunday very rarely observe a day of rest. No wonder we are so tired. No wonder we contract so many colds and other illnesses. Our immune system has difficulty keeping up with the burden we place on it. Even our children are tired.

We need to make physical rest a priority. Rest has several benefits, not just to our bodies but to our minds.  Our muscles and organs get a chance to recover from the stress we place on them, our minds are refreshed and can process thoughts better. But there is an added benefit. As Christians, rest can give us a chance to commune with God. When was the last time you sat somewhere in your backyard, gazed up at the heavens and wondered at the magnificence of the One who created them? I believe David did that a lot. Here's what he says in Psalm 19:1 -  The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Make time for rest this summer. Lie on the grass in your backyard and contemplate the glory and majesty and splendor of our God. Your physical, mental and spiritual health will thank you for it.

How To Overcome Tiredness

When was the last time you took a break from your busy schedule to rest and spend some time with God? One of the complaints I hear very often is tiredness. In today's busy world with so many demands being made on our time, it's easy to become tired. And tiredness leads to irritability, frustration and eventually resentment at our way of life. God does not want His children to be tired all the time. In the book of Exodus, he commanded the children of Israel to rest.

Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest : that thine ox and thine ass may rest , and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed - Exodus 23: 12

Everyone, including the animals, had a time of rest. Later, God commanded that the land be allowed to rest.

And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: 11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat : and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat . In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. - v 10 - 11.

When He walked the face of this earth, He often called away His disciples for a time of rest and relaxation.

And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going , and they had no leisure so much as to eat - Mark 6 : 31.

Jesus knew the benefits of rest to the human body. However, He also promised rest for the soul.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden , and I will give you rest . Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  Matthew 11 : 28 - 30.

Hebrews 4 : 3 states, For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said , As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 

If you find yourself being tired and irritable all the time, examine your lifestyle. Are you taking on too much? Are you reluctant to ask those around you for help? Do you find it difficult to say 'no' sometimes? Could you find an easier or simpler way of doing things? Are you a perfectionist?

Some or all of the above can contribute to a perpetual state of physical tiredness if we are not careful.  Mental or emotional tiredness is another matter. Sometimes we need a retreat from people and everyday situations. We need to get away from the crowds, as Jesus urged His disciples to do, so we can rest and refresh our souls.

As you meditate on the above scriptures, ask the Lord to show you how to deal with those areas of your life that are causing you tiredness, then do what He tells you to do.

Why Are You So Angry?

Photo credit: lesterp4 from morguefile.com

It would seem that anger is everywhere - on the roads, in the home and in the workplace. Road rage has taken lives; in the home children and parents, husbands and wives scream at each other and violence often erupts in places of employment. Why is there so much anger? If you find yourself becoming angry very often, you may need to slow down and try to determine what are the underlying reasons for your anger.

Your anger may stem from one or more of the following:

1. Fear. Surprisingly enough, a person who is angry is usually afraid of something. This quote from a Star Wars episode states, "Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."

2. Frustration. Are you frustrated by your attempts to succeed at something and always coming up short? If you are always frustrated, pretty soon you'll become angry.

3. Exhaustion. Have you found that you become irritable when you are tired? That irritation can turn into anger if you don't slow down and get some rest.

4. Environment. Anger can also be learned. If you live in an environment where everyone is angry all the time, you'll soon follow their example.

5. Worry. This often leads to fear, which, as we saw above can turn into anger.

Anger in itself is not always a bad thing. It's how that anger is channeled that will determine whether you overcome it or allow it to overcome you. Ecclesiastes 7 : 9 says, "Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry : for anger resteth in the bosom of fools." Ephesians 4 : 26 says, "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:" However, there are many references to people in the Bible who became angry. Remember Moses? Great man of God, chosen to lead God's people out of the bondage of Egypt. But if Moses had a psychiatrist he would have ended up in anger management classes. Because he couldn't control his anger, he was not allowed to enter the promised land.

Is your anger preventing you from enjoying the promises that God has for you? If yes, you need to confess it before God and ask Him to remove it from you. Jesus warned, "whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say , Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire" (Matthew 5 : 22).

Anger can be a destructive force that prevents you from enjoying God's best and also land you in a lot of trouble. It can also be the catalyst that drives you to make positive changes in your life and the lives of others. In the coming weeks I will continue to explore other aspects of this emotion.

Rest And Relaxation

This weekend I decided to take some much needed time for R&R and spend it with God. You know, we rush around so much doing this and that, and sometimes when we should be relaxing we find it hard to just unwind and do nothing. Well, this weekend with my grandchildren away at a camp, I decided I would do something I had been postponing for a long time.

I think God was pleased with my decision, because even the weather conspired to keep me indoors. If you live in Atlanta you know what I'm talking about.
So with the rain gently washing my window panes, I sat on my bed, read, prayed and sang. When I tired of that I lay still and just meditated on God and what I had read in His word.

Want to know what I read? Exodus. One of my favorite Bible stories. The part where God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. Then I flipped over to Matthew and read where Jesus said, speaking of the Law, "... I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill" (5:17). Then on to Romans where Paul explains that "a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (3:28). And then he sums up how the law is fulfilled in the life of a believer: "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law" (13:10).

Rest, relax, love God, love your neighbor as yourself. It doesn't get any better than that.