Renewing Your Christmas Spirit: Fatigue

DAILY BYTE

I don’t know about you but I find December to be an exhausting time. December arrives at a time of the year when we are already feeling tired and drained. We then find ourselves pushed onto a treadmill of Christmas parties, shopping trips, and seemingly never-ending lists of things that have to get done.

Fatigue poses great dangers to our spirituality.

This is because fatigue affects our perspectives and ability to think straight on issues. Fatigue drains us emotionally and spiritually as well as physically. Instead of being a time of rest and renewal, the Christmas rush can lead to even further exhaustion, leaving us depressed and down.

It is very important that we learn how to deal with our fatigue if we want to renew our Christmas spirits. In the next few weeks try out the following two suggestions:

 Take regular time out to rest. This seems so obvious but the fact remains we just do not do this enough. Did you know that in his 3 year ministry, Jesus is recorded as having a holiday or retreat 14 times. 14 retreats in 3 years! What is more, in the story of Creation, we are taught that God worked only 6 days before resting on the 7th. Rest is a gift given to us by God and modelled to us by Jesus. We may say to ourselves that we cannot afford the time to rest but the truth of the matter is that we just cannot afford the time NOT to.

 The second suggestion follows on from the first. Henri Nouwen once said that, “Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life.” Again I would remind you of how often Jesus took time out to spend in solitude and silence. Jesus knew that times of solitude and silence provide fuel for the soul and therefore are vital to countering the effects of fatigue.

This is your challenge today. Book yourself time out to rest, not to do shopping or other chores but just to rest. Ensure that at least part of this time is spent in solitude and silence – just you and God.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord God, today we want to bring to you our tiredness. Help us to remember the great danger that living continually with a sense of fatigue can be to us. Give us the strength and discipline to regularly place ourselves in your presence. Help us to take time out in silence and solitude. Thank-you Jesus for your promise that if we do come to you we will certainly find rest for our souls. Help us to be still and know you as God. Amen.

FOCUS READING

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.