All Leaders And Athletes Are Aware Of This Enemy

Revel. 2:2-3 - 'I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary. NASU
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·        Fatigue Is The Enemy Of Us All

In our scripture text today Jesus is commending the saints who live in Ephesus for they have not grown weary. In other words, they have not allowed "fatigue" to win the battle they have been fighting.

(If anyone is interested Dr. Mark Ziese and I will be leading a tour March 31-April 11, 2025 to Ephesus. We will be visiting the sites of the 7 churches in Revelation for more info click on this link - https://mark-ziese.squarespace.com/trkiye-and-the-early-church  ).

The Christians at Ephesus had not grown weary or as we might say today they didn't allow fatigue to settle in and dampen their spirits.
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There are a lot of causes for fatigue. A person might have anxiety, depression, an unhealthy diet, emotional exhaustion and the list goes on.

It can be cured by getting more sleep, changing your diet, associate with active positive people, have a good friend to share life with and simply exercise for 30 minutes a day. All of these can be used to help people eliminate fatigue.

I think the best way of all to overcome fatigue is to have a daily walk with God, believe in Him and ask Him to guide on your journey to Him.

·        Doing Good

Gal 6:9-10 - Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

Paul says there is a chance that even if we are doing good and helping people we could grow weary or become fatigued. I remember hearing that the average life span of a nurse working in the burn unit of the hospital was less than 18 months.

I am sure we all would agree working in a burn unit of a hospital would definitely fit under the category of "doing good". Yet, it becomes very burdensome to the nurses seeing people severely burned everyday. They become weary or fatigued and transfer out of that unit.

You may be involved in a vocation right now that drains you on a daily basis. Ask yourself if you believe this is where God wants you to be? If the answer is Yes, then ask God to give you the strength to overcome the challenges before you.

·        What About Christianity

It might surprise you but ministers likewise become fatigued or grow weary in the ministry. When I was ministering in MD one young boy came up and told me when he grew up he was going to be a minister because he would only have to work one day a week.

Well, I know some people jokingly say that but I guarantee you a minister of God will work more than one day a week. What keeps a man in the ministry is he knows this is where God wants him to be.

Any time you have a job where you are serving people you can be sure you will be facing the challenges of fatigue or as the apostle Paul would say, "growing weary in well doing".

·        How To Protect Yourself     

I would say the best way to protect yourself from fatigue is by believing what you are doing is vitally important and God has placed you there for such a time as this (Esther 4:14).

In order to do your job correctly you will need to ask God to give you strength daily to overcome all the obstacles that will come your way and know this "fatigue" will be one of those obstacles.

Another way to protect yourself from fatigue is have a good friend that you can share open conversation with about your life challenges on a regular basis. The frequency of this is up to you.
Lastly, if I were you I would develop an exercise program, get plenty of sleep and eat a balanced diet for starters.

Think About These:

Fatigue makes cowards of us all. - General George Patton & Coach Lombardi

Don't stop when you're tired. Stop when you are done. - David Goggins

Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts. - Coach Dan Gable

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago
 
Minister of God's Word