It was a Sunday morning. I had been up late due to a bat scratching around our window. We live back in the woods next to the forest. I was really tired from little sleep. I was putting the finishing touches on my sermon for that morning. I went to print it and the printer ran out of ink. I had been doing that thrifty thing of refilling my own ink cartridges and got out the refill kit. Next thing you know, there was ink everywhere. The ink had a way of multiplying once it was out of the container and I was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. In moments like these, I remember a couple of important Bible verses. One is in  Ephesians 4:26: "Be angry and do not sin." I also think of the fruit of the Spirit in  Galatians 5:22-24 as a reminder that the Spirit's presence produces "self-control."

When I get really tired, I get stupid — I know, we're not supposed to use that word about other people, but I can use it about myself. I am not alone in this trait. I believe that it is very important for us as Christians to realize this tendency and deal with it. We are more likely to be clumsy and drop things when we are tired. Over the years, I have learned to laugh at myself. It really is typical to drop things and bump into things when you are tired. Rather than be uptight about it, learn to laugh it off. We also have a tendency to be more emotional and temperamental when we're exhausted. Realizing this, we should pray, "Lord, I'm really tired, so please help me to have an extra dose of self-control." We have to be careful so that we don't "let ourselves go" and say or do things that we will later regret. Also, when we are really tired, we should realize it is not a good time to make important decisions. Our short fuse may lead us to make unwise and impulsive decisions rather than Spirit-led decisions. We don't want to make more problems for ourselves and others because we didn't deal with our own weaknesses. Let's realize that we are vulnerable, pray, and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit to see if He is prompting us to be cautious.

I'm so glad that God understands my humanity. However, God wants us to recognize that we need more than just coping skills for our times of weariness. I believe that he also wants us to realize that our weariness can be an indicator that things are out of balance and we need to address them. The apostle Paul wrote:

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

We need more than just coping skills.
When I'm weary, I need to realize that I must find a way to get some rest in order to stay healthy spiritually, physically, and mentally — because I get stupid when I'm tired!