designed to do— and when we’ re lacking the sleep we need to carry on tomorrow.
Anticipate the Slow
I’ ve noticed a pattern in my life and my friends’ lives: when things slow down, we tend to rush to get our lives together before things speed up again. Then, once they speed up, our fuel tank is just fumes.
Lately, I’ ve been honoring the slow, using it as a pause to catch my breath. This looks like allowing dishes to sit in the sink for longer than ideal. This looks like sitting down during the boys’ nap time rather than“ knocking out a few things.” This looks like not rushing home but taking the scenic route or scheduling a meal with a friend because I have a free evening. strike:
Philippians 4:5-7 Psalm 91:1-6 Lamentations 3:22-23
Be Loved and Served
Sometimes serving others is a way out of a rut, but it can also be damaging and exhausting if I’ m sitting in a place of spiritual fatigue. In these moments, I need to give myself permission to let others help and serve me rather than isolate myself.
If we are all members of the same spiritual family, and all of us have different functions( see Romans 12:4-5), then it makes sense that others may carry burdens for us when we’ re experiencing fragility.
Slow is luxury. So when I get it, I take it. Sit in God’ s Presence
Spiritual Rest
Seek Truth
When the world makes us weary, the Word does not. In fact, it’ s the armor we need for seasons when we feel spiritually depleted( see Ephesians 6:10-20). It gives our mind and heart ways to evangelize to our soul when it’ s weary— and in other seasons, allows our heart and soul to tend to our mind.
Here are a few passages I love having on the tip of my tongue when spiritually dry seasons
Prayer is a two-way conversation, but it’ s okay if you don’ t have anything to say. If your soul is tired, you probably don’ t.
Calling our feelings what they are and telling the Lord the truth of how we feel gives Him the opportunity to do something with our feelings that we couldn’ t do on our own. It also reminds us that, thankfully, our feelings can’ t change what we know to be eternally true. When you’ re in a funk, it’ s important to remember that our funks only have authority over the world we see and cannot redefine
38