Ruth Haley Barton coined the phrase “dangerous tiredness.”  

Her theory was featured in christianwomandaily.com and then re-written for our Life Church Devotional Day: Nov 6, 2014. I just HAD to share it yet again because it is psychologically insightful and spiritually deep.

Fatigued? Its symptoms include:

1. Irritability/hypersensitivity. Things that wouldn’t normally bother you, like another motorist cutting you off or a friend’s irritating habits, put you on edge. 

2. Restlessness. A vague sense that something isn’t right….you feel like running away.. you’re exhausted, but you can’t fall asleep. 

3. Compulsive overworking. Checking email late into the evening …the inability to unplug completely and go on vacation…struggling to enjoy uninterrupted family time. 

4. Emotional numbness. You don’t “feel” anything, good or bad, and you’re afraid if you did you’d be overwhelmed. 

5. Escapist behavior. Compulsive eating, drinking, spending, watching TV, pornography, surfing the internet. You lack the will to exercise, connect with friends, pursue a hobby, or read a good book.

6. Feeling disconnected from your calling. You go through the motions of ministry without any real sense of who you are and what God called you to do. You’re at the mercy of others expectations and your own inner compulsions because you’ve no internal plumb line against which to measure these demands. 

7. Neglecting yourself physically. You’ve no time to eat right, take a walk, get enough sleep, and do everyday things like washing the car or picking up the laundry. 

8. Hoarding your energy. You’re afraid people will drain the last of your resources, so you withdraw to conserve what you left. 

9. Letting your spiritual habits slip. Things that would normally energize you and you know are good for you, like praying, reading, journaling and self-examination, feel like burdens.

If any of this sounds familiar, chances are you’ve hit a wall. It’s time to pay attention, talk to God, and reorder your priorities:

1. Do you have a comfy chair in a quiet room of the house or a chair in your sun room you could designate as your place with God. Or maybe you can set your alarm 10 minutes earlier and sit up in bed and have a quiet time and read your Bible and prayer journal before you put your feet on the ground and the day begins to demand itself on you.

2. Prayer journal as often as you can by using a notebook or buying a dollar store journal and writing your prayers and hopes and dreams to God like a diary you share with Him. Write the date at the top of your entries and thank Him for what He has done or kept you from and then ask Him for help in areas you need. This will turn into your record and also a faith builder for future hurdles. Many times I have looked back at old prayer journal entries where I was praying for peace or God’s help and was able to see how those things were realized in time. It builds my faith to see documented answers to past prayers.