“Soul-fatigue damages our relationships with the people in our lives.”

A thought by John Ortberg (2014-04-22) from his book, Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (p. 131). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

John shares, “The soul was not made to run on empty. But the soul doesn’t come with a gauge. The indicators of soul-fatigue are more subtle: • Things seem to bother you more than they should. Your spouse’s gum-chewing suddenly reveals to you a massive character flaw. • It’s hard to make up your mind about even a simple decision. • Impulses to eat or drink or spend or crave are harder to resist than they otherwise would be. • You are more likely to favor short-term gains in ways that leave you with high long-term costs. Israel ended up worshiping a golden calf simply because they grew tired of having to wait on Moses and God. • Your judgment is suffering. • You have less courage. ‘Fatigue makes cowards of us all’ is a quote so ubiquitous that it has been attributed to General Patton and since Lombardi and Shakespeare. The same disciples who fled in fear when Jesus was crucified eventually sacrificed their lives for him. What changed was not their bodies, but their souls. The soul is not well when we rush so much. If it does not get the rest it needs, it becomes fatigued.”

John quoted Dallas Willard who said, “Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” But that is all we do and it is throwing us into a life of constant fatigue which hurts our relationships.

Jesus said in John 14:27 (NIV), “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

I love how the Apostle Paul starts his letters. In Galatian 1:3 (NIV) he says, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…” He knew what we would need even today and he knew where we would get it. Just slow down and seek Him in this busy time of the year. That is how you will put Christ into your Christmas.

As Dallas says, “Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” I know, better said than done but at least try.

So how tired are you today?

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