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Crisis Fatigue

Crisis Fatigue

November 29, 2020 • Pastor Adam Haugen

Fatigue has set in on everything. A recent Harvard Business Review says this - "We are dealing with the virus AND the emotions that it is creating. Negative emotions are every bit as contagious as the virus…fatigue, fear, and panic undermine our ability to think clearly and creatively, manage our relationships effectively, focus attention on the right priorities, and make smart, informed choices." Over the past few months, we have all experienced fatigue in some of these areas. t’s sometimes hard to be creative and think clearly. Our actions are not always lining up with our priorities. Finally, managing relationships can be difficult. So, how we can align our faith in the midst of crisis fatigue? 1.) Clarity in Chaos "When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth. For the Lord God had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate the soil. Instead, springs came up from the ground and watered all the land." - Genesis 2:4-6 (NLT) "My people are guilty of two evils: They have abandoned Me, the spring of living waters; and instead, they have settled for dead and stagnant water from cracked, leaky cisterns of their own making." - Jeremiah 2:13 (VOICE) God says these ways of finding refreshing are cracked and broken and they cannot hold water. They cannot refresh our soul, and we find ourselves depressed, anxious, lonely, and frustrated. So how do we cultivate creativity in chaos? By entering the rest and refreshment of God. 2.) Protect Priorities in a Pandemic "Where there is no vision, the people perish." -Proverbs 29:18 KJV "When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild." -Proverbs 29:18 NLT You may feel like you have been perishing this year, but that has less to do with the pandemic, and more to do with your pursuit of God’s vision for your lives. Realize this, the pandemic did not change your priorities, the pandemic exposed your priorities. I think we can get into a thought pattern that when this season is over, your life will go back to normal. 3.) Refreshing Relationships People are relationally exhausted. Every relationship status has the same hurdle: Selfishness. "For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." -James 3:16 (NLT) Selfishness is the root of all sin. It is the behavior of “I know what’s best for me and you too.” Most of us enter relationships thinking about what’s in it for us. "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." -John 15:13 (NIV) Do you want to overcome your relational fatigue? Stop obsessing about “this is the way" and start outdoing in the honor you give. Overcoming relational fatigue begins with investing in your relationship with Jesus. Your relationships will never be at a healthy place until you make God the center, and have healthy and realistic expectations of other people.