When you push yourself beyond the boundaries of wisdom, you suffer the same results as those who burn out in any other endeavor. Here are a few insights to help you:

a) if you grew up in a stress-filled environment you may not know how to handle life any other way. Nothing will change until you acknowledge that stress is like emotional adrenaline to you; it is why you keep creating it

b) when you are sitting in a chair and you hear the legs crack, wisdom says, ‘Take your weight off it before you end up on the floor.’ Heed the significant signs of stress before your health breaks and you are no good to God or anybody else

c) learn to be prudent. Prudence just means careful management. To become a better manager of your time, your energy and your gifts, start writing down the habits you need to work on. Do not announce, ‘Starting today, everybody around here is going to change!’ No, work on yourself first, and only work on one or two things at a time

d) recognize your stress makers. Learn to adapt, instead of always allowing things to upset you. Life has a middle name, it is called – change! Guess what? You are supposed to get tired! Fatigue is a God-given boundary that prevents you from pushing yourself over the edge. What is it that gives you acid in your stomach, knots in your neck, and makes you less than a joy to be around? The answer to that question reveals what you need to work on!

The above devotion was written/compiled from multiple sources by Tim Hetzner, President of Lutheran Church Charities and used with permission.