Check Your Meters!

Don’t you wish we had some kind of meters we could look at that tell us “Your energy level is down to minus ten. Take a break!” Or “You are at the end of your emotional meter—you’re going to start saying and doing things you will regret. Get some rest.” Or “You’ve been working too long at this, and you’re out of new ideas; your creativity meter is below zero. Give it a break!” Maybe then we’d stop trying to do everything, be everything others want us to be, and please everybody!

The truth is, we do have very good guidelines—meters if you wish—to give us this information. We have to make the right choices that keep us from going into overdrive, into burnout. We have to learn how to keep ourselves replenished! And those guidelines are found in God’s Word—in his truth.

As long as we keep our meters where they should be, we’re able to give of ourselves to others, to do what we have to do, to meet needs and expectations. But when the wells start to run dry and we try to take water out of a dry well, we are fast entering burn-out territory, and our effectiveness in all we do suffers greatly!

I’m beginning to realize I need to check my meters frequently, because I tend to push myself too much. God has given me a strong body and a high energy level. There are so many needs I see all around me, and I want to be involved and make a difference. I often come up with new ideas as to what could be done. But I have to learn that if I want to be effective in the long-haul, to be running smoothly next year, and the next and the next, I have to make certain I don’t run down the engine this year.

An article I read puts it so well. In essence, it says that at some point, we have to accept that our to-do list won’t get finished today, and that’s ok. It’ll still be there tomorrow. Choosing to protect your health matters more than pushing through years of nonstop, exhausting busyness.

That’s smart thinking. How can you and I be certain we are doing today the things that will enable us to run the entire race and not burn out? Well, I think we need to learn how to read our meters, know when they’re running low, and know what we have to do to re-supply them. I have put together what you might call a Check-up Form, asking myself probing questions to help me read my physical, emotional, and spiritual meters.

I’d like to share that with you, as you may find it helpful. First, ask yourself:

How is your physical meter doing?

We’re made up of body, soul, and spirit, and each has an effect on the other. So, if my physical body is running at less than optimum, that will affect my spiritual and emotional condition quite dramatically.

Here are some key areas to check on your physical meter:

Am I getting enough rest?

Sleep deprivation can cause the blahs. Some symptoms of sleep deprivation are falling asleep in the middle of the day while sitting at your desk. Or finding it almost impossible to keep your eyes open at a meeting or at church.

When you go long periods with less than adequate sleep, your body may adjust and you keep going, but eventually it catches up, and you find yourself living in sleep deprivation mode. That takes more than one night’s good sleep to replenish. They tell us we need seven to eight hours of sleep at least four nights a week. Are you getting that?

What are my eating patterns and habits?

If you always eat on the go, lots of fast-food meals, skip meals often, go without breakfast regularly, or have an unbalanced diet, you’re bound to be harming yourself physically. You may not think of it this way, but your eating habits are a spiritual matter, and if you know you should eat differently and don’t, that’s not just a bad habit, that’s sinful. We’re quick to denounce drug and alcohol as harmful and sinful to our bodies, but poor eating habits are equally bad.

I find it easy to rebel in this area. God has to continue to convict me that what I put in my body is important to my service for him, and I’m going to