Lessons Learned from Sickness Part 46: Fighting Tiredness
By Pastor Ronny Luces
I just returned from a short trip to Sunrise Beach Resort, Guimbal, Iloilo. Mam Martha wanted to see for herself how our young people from JEC (Jaro Evangelical Church) and Libertad Baptist Church, Tapaz, Capiz, were faring with the 2015 Youth Camp.
This was the first time she could not stay with the campers because her priority was to take care of me.
Since the place is not so far away, I decided to accompany her with Nang Tessie Lozanes driving her van as our service vehicle.
I also used the time to breathe fresh air from the sea and savor the heat of early morning sunlight on the beach.
As soon as we arrived at JEC, I felt exhausted and said to myself, “Just rest, forget everything, don’t do anything, just lie down and sleep.”
Isn’t that the way tiredness can affect you?
Even if you have something important to do, exhaustion seems to drain all your strength and energy and make your body, mind, and spirit helpless.
To fight the temptation to be motionless and useless, I decided to work on this lesson to face my tiredness positively.
I discovered that if I do what’s important and urgent, my tiredness will be forgotten.
I have learned this lesson from many people who don’t let their tiredness render them useless. Take a look at an Olympic athlete.
The most important for him/her is a gold medal – and for his or her name to be enshrined among the most outstanding sports personalities in history.
That is why he/she never stops training and disciplining him/herself so that his/her body, mind, and spirit will be prepared for competition.
Because of the importance of his/her goal, he/she fights exhaustion instead of being paralyzed by it.
Let’s turn the spotlight on us.
What’s most important to us as Christians, and what can help us fight spiritual tiredness?
Jesus provided an answer in Matthew 16:24. He said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
This is a direct instruction from Jesus, and he did it by example.
He carried the cross for us and fought his exhaustion to teach us that there must be suffering before glory, sacrifice before reward, and a cross before a crown.
The heart of Christian discipleship is the cross because it signifies giving before gaining and losing before winning.
Take away the cross of our Lord, and every Christian becomes nothing but an unregenerate sinner.
Without the cross, the world is hopeless. Without the cross, repentance and faith become nothing more than empty words.
Only at the cross of Calvary, the tired find rest; the hurting finds comfort; the lonely find a friend; the blind receive sight; the lost find salvation; and the dying find life.
Posted on FB: Wednesday, 8 April 2015 at 9:08 PM
About the Author
Rev. Ronny Luces was the Minister for Administration and Community Service of the Jaro Evangelical Church (JEC), Iloilo City, Philipines. He and his wife, Martha have been with JEC’s ministry since 1994.
Pastor Ronny graduated from Central Philippine University College of Theology in 1985 and was pastor of several Baptist churches.
In January 2015, after tests and two long hospital confinements, Pastor Ronny got the word he had lung cancer. He underwent chemotherapy.
Praying for healing and going through all the medical processes, Pastor Ronny wrote his reflections “Lessons Learned from My Sickness.” In July 2015, he passed away.
May Pastor Ronny’s series of reflections and meditations strengthen your hope and faith as you go through your own life’s battles.
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