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Time Management: A Deep Well

How to keep spiritually fit. Even Jesus couldn’t keep pouring Himself out again and again without recognizing His own need to fill His well.   

Everyone knows that when a well runs dry it can’t do what it was made to do. The same could be said about teachers—when we are spiritually dry, our purpose of inspiring, educating, and encouraging students is impossible to fulfill. As a leader of teens, your spiritual life needs to be in order before you can adequately serve a group of students. Here are some practical ways to make sure your life is in good shape to be used by God to help others know Him.

1.  Make sure your life is being lived in balance. There will always be times when you are working too hard and not resting enough. There will probably also be times when you are not working hard enough.  If you’re a volunteer, time away from home is always a challenge. If you have kids of your own, it’s hard shuffling them to school and sports and church activities. Log your hours. How are you spending your time? Are your priorities in line? If you’re living a frantic pace, it will be difficult to stay fresh enough to pour yourself into others.

2.  Get an accountability partner. This person should be someone you really trust who is able to ask you the tough questions. Meet with him or her regularly (once a week is good). Allow him or her access to your doubts, fears, and dreams. Iron sharpens iron. Make sure you don’t miss out on this opportunity to be sharpened by another believer.

3.  Read God’s Word. You can’t teach it if you don’t know it. Have a regular time of study. Lesson prep is good for this, but don’t limit yourself to that. Find a time of day when you can sit and let things soak in.

4.  Don’t over-serve. Just like a car that overheats, we can over-serve.  If you volunteer every time the church doors are open, when are you worshipping? When do you fellowship? When are you studying with other adults? Make sure your well doesn’t run dry doing good things. Be certain you have times to re-charge your batteries.

5.  Take breaks.  No one said when you agreed to teach you had to do it the rest of your life without a hiatus. Build in a quarterly break for yourself. Surely there’s a parent or another adult who can substitute for you. Take a couple of weeks off in the summer, or even a whole series off once in a while. Leading students is a marathon, not a sprint. Pace yourself.

Even Jesus couldn’t keep pouring Himself out again and again without recognizing His own need to fill His well. He went to a mountainside to pray, and He spent time with those who knew Him best.  He understood that you can’t draw from an empty reservoir. Take time to check yourself.  It will make your teaching and leadership more effective in the long run.

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