What to Do When the Journey is Too Much for You

//  “Oh my goodness! Are you going to faint? Lie down, quickly!”

The frantic voice cutting through the fuzziness of the moment was that of my doctor. It was time for my annual physical, and I had just raced to get there on time.

It was one of those mornings.

I remember saying to her, “I feel normal.”

“Shauna, your blood sugar is dangerously low! What have you eaten today?”

Believe it or not, my answer was… “I have a banana in the car.”

She just shook her head and looked at me incredulously.

“It’s not going to HELP you unless you eat it.”

Haha! That memory came back to bite me this week when I jumped up from a short afternoon nap to find myself fainting face-first into the corner of our bed. Thank goodness, I only face-planted into the mattress and not the dresser beside it.

I skipped lunch that day because I got busy with appointments, but also because I was going to have supper with some of my mentoring leaders that evening. Once again, I had delayed eating and put myself in danger.

When will I learn?   

Ironically, an hour later, I was leading the leaders’ meeting, and we were discussing the story of when Elijah was running for his life and ran for forty days straight. Do you remember what happened? //

“The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.’ So, he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God” (1 Kings 19:7-8 NIV).

And it got us thinking… why DON’T we eat regularly?

In my case, I miss meals when

1. I get too busy to stop and take care of myself.
2. I get too tired (aka lazy) to make something nutritious.
3. I’m simply not hungry yet. Why eat when you’re not hungry?

“I’ve got a banana in the car.”

My friends, can you see the correlation between eating food for the health of your bodies and eating the Word for the health of your spirits?

The Father has laid before us EVERYTHING we need for the journey ahead of us. He knows what’s coming, and He knows what we need! Will you accept the strength and endurance that He’s offering you?

It’s crucial that we “Wake up and eat” what He’s giving us. That means reading and ingesting HIS WORD, not just self-help books or encouraging posts you find online. I’m talking about the Bread of Life!

“Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.”

It doesn’t matter if you read the Bible app on your phone or the leather-bound Bible beside your bed, or even if you listen to an audio Bible in your car. You need to get the Words of Life INSIDE you.

“It’s not going to HELP you unless you eat it.”

So, what does that mean?

• Don’t wait for your schedule to slow down. If it takes you 10 minutes to eat a sandwich, then take 10 minutes to read. Start with small bites throughout the day. (I’m not saying you can’t check FB or IG, just read something in the Word first.)
• Don’t wait for inspiration to strike to decide where to read. It doesn’t have to be fancy or profound. Every chapter has value. Read anything and everything.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful…” (2 Timothy 3:16 NIV).

• Don’t wait for hunger to overtake you. Feed your spirit before desperation hits. Keep yourself healthy and strong, even if you don’t realize you need it.

Read it now BEFORE you get weak and tired, before crisis or trauma. The journey is too great for you, and your very life depends on it.

Please excuse me—I need to make myself a sandwich. 🙂

Love you lots!

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Every Friday, I join an inspiring group of writers to write for FIVE MINUTES on a one-word prompt. No editing. No revising. Just WRITE. This week, the prompt word was ACCEPT.

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For more information on Five Minute Friday, check out the Five Minute Friday website!

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♥ HOORAY!

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IDENTITY: Finding the Proverbs 31 Woman in the Middle of Kid Chaos (Mom Awesomeness Series)

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