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“God has given us a warning light on the dashboards of our lives.”

A thought by Ray Johnston (2014-05-13) from his book, The Hope Quotient: Measure It. Raise It. You'll Never Be the Same. (p.118). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Ray continues, “It’s called loss of joy. When we’re joyless, we’re on overload. Having no joy means we are about to exceed a limit, whether physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional, and put ourselves in danger of shutting down and getting stranded in a place we never wanted to be.”

He goes on, “I’m glad for a warning because I’m so mission-driven and focused that, if I could, I would work eight days a week, twenty-six hours a day. If I head in that direction long enough, I start enduring life and using people instead of enjoying life and loving people.”

Are you having a problem here?  Have you lost your joy?  Do you need some balance in your life?  Are you using people instead of loving them?

Later he says, “God wants you emotionally, spiritually, and relationally healthy. The apostle Paul described the kingdom of God as a matter of ‘righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Romans 14: 17). Of those three, righteousness can be faked, peace can be imitated, but joy is pretty hard to mimic, which makes it the best indicator of the true state of a soul. There’s a glow to true joy that joking and silliness and horseplay just can’t reproduce. When that glow fades, the warning light comes on.”

He goes on, “None of us can afford to ignore the critical need to refuel. Here’s a lifetime lifestyle tip: schedule times to recharge, refresh, and refuel in advance. Easter is busy for pastors. On Monday morning after Easter, I usually say, ‘Christ is risen; I’m dead.’ Since it is predictable, Carol and I will take a short vacation with some good friends about three or four weeks before the rush hits. We also block out a few days after Easter for a staff getaway to chill, golf, relax and have fun. Planned refueling stops, help to keep my joy level full and my hope level high.”

I have said that sickness is God ways of telling us it is time to stop. Why not stop and refuel before that?  

So, are you running on empty? 


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