“Let your life be a stepping stone to Christ and not a stumbling block.” 1 Cor. 8:13 & 10:31

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify God who is in heaven." Matt. 5:16

Rest And Plug In Your Emotional Battery

By Rick Warren

Love can be absolutely exhausting. The kind of love that really makes a difference in this world will zap everything out of you.

Sometimes you just don't feel like you have any more love to give. You come home and think, "I just can't face another need, another problem, or heartache." So you just shut down.

While that's perfectly natural and perfectly human, it's not the high standard of love that God calls us to in the Bible. The Bible says, in 1 Corinthians 13:7, "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance" (NLT). Love never gives up.

“ .. he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest’” (Mark 6:31 NIV).

Are you overwhelmed? Do you feel inadequate? Are you ready to blow at any moment? You can’t love others in a godly way when you’re at the end of your emotional rope. How many relationships have been ripped apart because the people involved failed to take care of themselves emotionally?

God’s Word gives us three habits that can help us recharge emotionally, when we have nothing to give.

1. Solitude. Mark 6:31 says, “So many people were coming and going…[Jesus] said to them [the disciples], ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest’” (NIV). Jesus understood that your emotions are like a battery. If you plug one light bulb into a battery, it will last for a fairly long time. If you plug in 100 lights, the battery will drain very quickly. Many of you have so many lights plugged in, your battery is shot. You can’t recharge anybody else—you can’t give love—if your own battery is drained. You recharge when you get away by yourself.

2. Play. The Bible says, “Jesus came enjoying life” (Matthew 11:19 PH). He was the most people-focused, ministry-intensive person who ever lived, yet he took the time to have fun. Certain activities recharge you emotionally; they literally re-create your energy and enthusiasm for life. We all have different activities that recharge us because we’re all made differently. Find out what recharges you emotionally and make time for it.

3. Laughter. Proverbs 17:22 says, “Being cheerful keeps you healthy” (GNT). Studies prove that when you laugh, it increases your number of T-cells, which raises your immunity level. Laughter is good for your health. Humor is God’s gift to us. Remember, God has a sense of humor—he made you!

To be emotionally balanced, take God very seriously but don’t take yourself seriously. Learn to laugh at your limitations. There is plenty of material. If you only laugh and enjoy life when your problems are all solved, you’ll never enjoy life.

Rick Warren is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century.