Are you one of those people that wake up wishing you could go back to sleep? Your desire is to just close your eyes and ignore the world around you. When you wake and think of the day before you, there is a feeling of being overwhelmed. You are not prepared for today. You feel you are already hours behind, and your foot hasn’t even touched the floor. Many live this way from day to day, and the result is a life that is stressful with limited or no joy. You push through each day so you can crawl to the bed for some shuteye and wake to start it all over. This lifestyle can be very draining and depressing. The good news is that God never intended for it to be that way. I can hear some of you saying, “I know that, but that’s just the way it is.” That my friend is a lie from the pits of hell. If Satan can convince you of that, he has already made your testimony ineffective and your life drudgery.
Why are we so overwhelmed? Do we have multitudes of things to do each day? Do we have many people who depend on us? Yes, we do, and that is even more reason to conquer this lifestyle. The pattern we set will be repeated by those we influence, but it will magnify itself in our children.
To help to conquer this attitude we need to be prepared. We need a refreshing and recharging of the soul. This will take some effort on your part, but the payoff will be unreal. If you want things to be different, then you must change your habits. You can’t get different results doing things the same way you have been doing them.
The best way to handle any situation is to prepare ahead of time. Look at tomorrow’s schedule. Get ahead of it by your preparation. Clean your kitchen, do any meal prep you can for the next day, pack bags, lunches, turn off the lights, and move to the next room. Make a plan for bedtimes, for the children, and yourself. A schedule that is not kept is of no value to anyone, it will only lead to more frustration. To get to the point that your circumstances aren’t overwhelming, discipline yourself to follow your plan until it becomes a habit.
What are some things you can plan way ahead? Meals, clothing, household chores, and time alone with the Lord, are all things that should be planned out.
The most important task is spending time alone with the Lord. It’s difficult to find quiet time when you have a family, but it’s not impossible. If you don’t, you will come apart at the seams. You will never get off the merry-go-round you are on. If you feel sleep-deprived, you will not want to get up earlier than normal, but if your day is to be tackled with a peaceful settled feeling, it’s a must. Jesus gave us the example in Mark 1:35. He went out early in the morning to a solitary place.
Mark 1:35 “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”
You may feel you are too tired to get up earlier than you do now, but you can. The day before Jesus executed verse 35, we find him preaching, healing the sick, casting out demons, even after sundown he was still healing people. Jesus had an exhausting day prior to His early rising. Will it take some discipline on your part? Absolutely! I know this from experience, but your first step of each day is crucial because it sets the tone for the rest of the day. Prayer and the reading of God’s word will give you the strength and joy to tackle the challenges of the day. I know there will be many days your time gets interrupted, but it is vital to your physical, mental, and spiritual health to get up and meet with Jesus first. Jesus was interrupted in verse 37 by Peter. Everyone was looking for Jesus, but Jesus didn’t allow them to change His plans. In verse 38 he tells His disciples to go with Him to the next town. He had a mission, and no one was going to detour Him. You can push through with a tired body, but a tired spirit is certain to yield a feeling of defeat. Note, you can increase your physical strength by taking a walk each day or getting some sort of physical exercise. A recent mental health article stated that exercise stimulates the body to produce endorphins and enkephalins, the body’s natural feel-good hormones, which can make problems seem more manageable. This physical exercise will be an aid in your spiritual life also. It is an act of obedience to take care of our temple.
I Corinthians 6:19 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
When you start your day with your priorities in order, the benefits will far outweigh the lack of sleep. You will be more aware of God’s presence throughout the day. You will gain perspective on things that happen because you will be looking at life from God’s point of view, and after a while, you will learn how to get in bed earlier. That overwhelming feeling that drains you will be replaced with these thoughts mentioned in the verses below.
I John 4:4 “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
Romans 8:37-39 “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Matthew 11:28-29 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
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