CRAVE PERSONAL RENEWAL?
Jesus: “Come to ME and I will give you REST” Matt.11.28-29
How do you feel when you’re stressed? Do you identify with these reactions: irritable, snappy, depressed, mad, sad, ready to scream—and burst into tears? Or maybe you react with silence, withdrawal, stuffed rage, smoldering resentment—and perhaps a mask that hides it all?
Stress can be a motivator, it can also be a constant drainer of your emotional and spiritual energy.
To help you conquer stress and cultivate rest:
Visualize a tank, say the size of an aquarium, with tubes running into the top, and others draining out the bottom. Your tank can hold only so much. When stress drains your tank, and you don’t keep refilling it with what renews your soul—you get depleted, dry, and empty.
Get your rest and relief from Jesus. If you’re burdened, weary, and overwhelmed, He offers a relationship of love, healing, and peace. He isn’t waiting to shame or condemn you, He holds out understanding, forgiveness, and renewal.
Take action. God’s Spirit doesn’t pour out the spiritual and emotional energy you desperately need without your desire, request, and action. James 4:2 declares a powerful principle of the spiritual life: You have not, because you ask not.
Pray for insight. List all the causes you can think of that are producing stress in your life right now. Study them. Which are roles or situations you can change?
List what brings you vitality and joy. To fill your emotional tank, make time to get outside and walk, worship, and wonder at God’s love and acceptance of you. Create something. Get together with friends. Take care of your body. Make 7-8 hours of sleep a priority for good health. Do what nourishes your inner self, helps you flourish, and makes you come alive.
To fill your spiritual tank, make prayer a priority. Choose times of rest from endless to-do lists, from noise that blocks the voice of God, and instead, seek a place of quietness to read Scripture. Pray over it, praise God through it, perceive what He is saying to you in your life, your choices, and your direction. Stop and listen, capture your thoughts from prayer and Scripture. Write to God—just like a human relationship, you’ll sense His closeness and be filled.
Want personal renewal?
I do.
I need it constantly.
It’s like manna. It doesn’t last.
I need to stay close. To abide. To stay hungry.
When I do, my emotional and spiritual tank overflows.
I’m who I want to be.
Qu: What about you? What drains you emotionally or spiritually?What renews you? Let’s encourage each other by sharing life. Keep growing closer, my friends, keep building your relationship with Jesus.
Poppy
Photo Credit: GraphicStock