The Hope QuotientSample

When we lose confidence, peace, or friendships, when we endure life instead of enjoying life, when we are grouchy, irritable, or discouraged, we need to ask, Am I running on empty? 

Imagine if God put a red flashing light in your brain, and a beeper went off when you hit 110 percent capacity. God has given us a warning light on the dashboards of our lives. It’s called loss of joy. 

When we’re joyless, we’re on overload. Having no joy means we are about to exceed a limit, whether physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional. We’ve put ourselves in danger of shutting down.

I have a painful yet foolproof test. Once a year I ask my wife, “Am I more fun to live with than I was a year ago, or have I become more uptight?” For obvious reasons, I conduct the test only once a year.

God wants you emotionally, spiritually, and relationally healthy. Out of the righteousness, peace, and joy he gives us, righteousness can be faked, peace can be imitated, but joy is pretty hard to mimic. That makes joy the best indicator of the true state of a soul. There’s a glow to true joy that joking and silliness and horseplay just can’t reproduce. When that glow fades, the warning light comes on.

Here’s a lifetime lifestyle tip: schedule times to recharge, refresh, and refuel in advance.

Easter is busy for pastors. The Monday after Easter, I usually say, “Christ is risen; I’m dead.” Since it is predictable, Carol and I take a short vacation about three or four weeks before the rush. We also block a few days after Easter to relax and have fun. 

Here’s a sure formula:

1.  Divert daily. Divide each day into three sections – morning to noon, noon to five, five, and beyond. Recharge throughout the day.

2.  Withdraw weekly. Carve out one day each week to rest and enjoy God.

3.  Abandon annually. Get away for an extended period from all demands. For high pressured jobs, get away for two weeks because it takes a week to unwind.

Plan refueling stops helps to keep your joy level full and your hope level high because it’s hard to fake “full.”

Think Up:

None of us can afford to ignore the critical need to refuel.

Are you running on empty? Overdue for a refueling stop? (Read on).