By Linda Hermann
Ahh – the ‘smart’ phone…
- It may be ‘smart’, but are we?
- Do you control your phone or does it control you?
- What’s the first thing you do each morning – spend time with Jesus and His Word, or check your emails/Facebook/text messages?
- When do you turn your phone on in the morning and when do you turn it off at night?
I spend a lot of time with a lot of YWAM leaders all over Thailand. When I ask them those questions, what do you think their answers are? What are yours?
I confess when I wake, I often check my emails before the Word. And last thing at night, I may check my emails or the news before bed. Think I sleep well? When was the last time you heard good news on the news?
My balance is slipping.
And I know the cost. I’ve been ‘burnt out’, and it’s not a pretty sight. Burnout doesn’t happen in a day. It’s a slow slide. Your work-life-rest balance starts to lean more into the work until even your ‘rest’ becomes work, one more thing to accomplish on your ‘to do’ list.
I know Jesus had the same problem – John 4:6 says he was so tired, He sat down by a well and sent his disciples into town to get food. But the story that hits me, that really lets me know Jesus understands how busy we get sometimes, is Mark 3: 20-21: “And He came home and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him, for they were saying “He has lost His mind”.
He didn’t though. He did stop. He escaped the crowds, even His own disciples, to go to the mountains. Do you really think He prayed all night when He did that? Or did He simply sit on the hillside and enjoy be-ing? Breathing in, breathing out, looking at clouds, letting the wind sing soft songs to Him.
Balance. Does your life have it?
- Answer the questions at the beginning of this article.
- Ask your family, your friends, your children, your teammates.
- Ask God.
- For two weeks, write down what you do in a day.