John Ortberg on ‘soul fatigue’.
Excerpted from this post.
The soul craves rest. Our wills sometimes rejoice in striving; our bodies were made to (at least sometimes) know the exhilaration of tremendous challenge; our minds get stretched when they must focus even when tired. But the soul craves rest. The soul knows only borrowed strength. The soul was made to rest in God the way a tree rests in soil.
One of the challenges of soul-fatigue is that it does not have the same obvious signs as physical fatigue. If you’ve run a marathon, your body lets you know it’s finished. Our souls were not made to run on empty. But the soul doesn’t come with a gauge. The indicators of soul-fatigue are more subtle:
- Things seem to bother you more than they should.
- It’s hard to make your mind up about even simple decisions.
- Impulses to eat or drink or spend or crave will be harder to resist than they otherwise would.
- You are more likely to favor short-term gains in ways that will leave you with long-term costs.
- You judgment suffers.
- You have less courage.
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Read the whole post here.
mgpcpastor's blog 