From Exhaustion to Rejuvenation: Overcoming the Worn-Out Woman Syndrome - Part 2
"Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousnessand all these things shall be added unto you."
(Matthew 6:33)
Once I had admitted how overwhelmed and weary I was feeling and poured out my struggles to the Lord, I began slowly examining everything in my life with my husband. What specific problem areas in my life could be contributing to my exhaustion?
One very obvious area needing attention was my relationship with the Lord. Most days, I was spending time in God's Word and prayer, but it felt very dry and lifeless. It was as if I was "going through the motions", without any heartfelt effects. Oh yes, some days a verse or two would really speak to me, but by and large I didn't find myself hungering and thirsting after God.
Upon further reflection, I realized that, in a sense, I'd become "too busy for God". No, I would never have told you that, but my actions and attitudes were speaking loudly concerning my priorities. If I had a choice between God's Word and getting on the computer or reading an interesting book, sadly, I would have chosen the latter. Rarely was I spending deep times of fellowship and communication with the Lord and often I'd rush through my Bible reading in order to get on with the next thing.
Yes, this was a serious problem and it takes me a great deal of courage to even admit where I was. My heart's desire was still to glorify God, but I'd become so involved in so many different other things in life that I had lost sight of my First Love.
The solution for me was not a quick fix, but a slow process. I began making myself stop and linger in God's Word. I started journaling again in order to help me focus and dig deeper into the Scriptures for nuggets of Truth. I asked God to encourage me through His Word, to deepen my relationship with Him, and to restore my hunger and thirst for Him.
Jesse and I felt the need to discontinue certain things in our life which we felt might be pulling me towards the world and away from God. I took a media fast and cut back on my computer time replacing these things with listening to sermons and hymns. I started reading through some of our many inspiring and deep books by great men and women of faith of old (C.H. Spurgeon, Amy Carmichael, Andrew Murray, etc.). And Jesse spent a lot of time praying for me and praying with me that God would renew my heart and my desire for Him.
You know what I found? The more time I spent fellowshipping with the Lord, turning my heart towards the things of God, and asking the Lord that His desires might be my desires and that I would love Him with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, the more I wanted to fellowship with Him. The more I seek to know Him, the more I want to know Him.
Don't get me wrong, I'm far from perfected in this regard. I'd like to tell you that I'm never tempted to skip quickly through my quiet time in order to get on with more "important things", but I still struggle plenty with this. However, I am thrilled that almost daily I am having rich times of sweet fellowship in God's Word.
I've learned that if you are too busy for God or too busy to pray, you are just plain too busy. Make whatever necessary changes you need to make in order to nurture a vibrant relationship with the Lord. Be ruthless; it's for your soul.
Resources:
Lord, Please Meet Me in the Laundry Room
Passionate Housewives Desperate for God
My All-Time Favorite Devotional Book
Articles:
Starting Your Day Off Right
My Number One Time Management Tip
Moms and Devotional Life (specifically for young mommies who can barely find time to brush their teeth!)
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What helps you to nurture a vibrant relationship with the Lord? What areas of your life do you need to change or adjust in order to make God preeminent in your life? Remember that different things will work for different people in different seasons of life--do what works for you! God bless you as you seek Him first!
Graphic from AllPosters.com
Labels: From Exhaustion to Rejuvenation
posted by Crystal Paine at 11:00 AM
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