RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

You look down and your battery is at 1%.  You panic because you suddenly realize your phone is about to shut down, just when you need it the most.  It's happened to all of us, hasn't it?  Without a battery that is charged up, our phones are useless.

There have also been times when I looked at my personal life and realized that I was at 1% emotionally, physically or spiritually.  I had nothing left to give to my family, ministry and other people who were depending on me.  I was drained so low that I was on the verge of shutting down completely.

Ever been there?  The simplest tasks become extremely hard.  You have a difficult time making decisions.  Your creativity dries up.  You begin to resent your schedule and work.  Health issues begin to surface.  You avoid contact with people.  What used to be joyful, now feels like an obligation.

I have a feeling I'm not the only one this has happened to before.  But the good news is you can recharge and see your frown be replaced with a smile once again.

It starts by recognizing what is draining your battery.  Every output action drains your battery at some level.  Every phone call, every conversation, every meeting, every conflict, every lesson you teach, every volunteer you counsel, every event you attend, contributes to your depletion.  It's normal to have some battery drain, if you didn't, it would mean you're not doing anything!  The goal is not to keep your battery at 100%!

Next - find out what is causing a major drain on your battery.  On your phone, there are certain apps that will drain your phone faster than others.  If you leave them running, even in the background, your battery can go down faster.  Again, the goal is not to eliminate drain.   The goal is to find out what is taking you down so quickly and adjust that part of your life.  This might be a person, a plate that is too full or even priorities that are wrong.  If you're going to get back to a healthy battery level, you've got to find identify this.

Know when your battery is getting low.  It's easy to know when your phone is depleted, isn't it?  You can see it.  But often we're not as quick to know when our personal battery is running low.  We ignore the signs of fatigue, frustration and discouragement.  Learn to watch your personal battery level.  Know when you are tired.  Know when you need rest.  Know when you are discouraged.  Know when you are restless.  Know when you are over-extended.  Enlist other people to help watch your personal battery level as well.  Give them permission to speak into your life when they see you running low.

Find ways to re-charge your battery.  At the end of each day, I plug my cell phone in beside my bed and let it charge up overnight.  But occasionally, I'll forget to plug it in and guess what happens the next day...usually at a critical time?  My phone goes dead.  No charge means no power and no power means a useless phone.

The same thing happens if I forget or neglect to charge my spiritual battery.  I get depleted and am useless for the Kingdom.  I must stay charged up through spending time with Jesus, resting, taking my day off, enjoying a hobby, using my vacation time and being poured into by others.

What re-charges your battery?  Make sure you're plugging into it and getting re-charged every day. 

Keep your battery at a consistent, healthy level.  The most productive way to operate is to find a battery level that you can consistently maintain.  Pace yourself so you never get down to 1% and find yourself about to shut down completely.  This will allow you to stay the course and finish strong.

I don't know where your battery level is at today.  Is it at 90%?  50%?  25%?  1%?  Wherever you find yourself, I offer you hope.  Don't give up.  Don't quit.  You can get re-charged.  You can get your battery back up to a healthy level.  It just takes being intentional.

Praying for you today.  Stay charged up!  Your best days of ministry are ahead.  You need to enter them with a full battery!