Rock and a Hard Place

Around the 850s BC, one of Israel's enemies laid siege to Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. After a while the siege caused a famine and things became so desperate that people in the city resorted to cannabilism (2 Kgs 6.26ff). 

But not all the Israelites were stuck inside the city. Four guys with leprosy sat outside the city wall, outcast because of their disease (Lev 13.46). Without the traffic in and out of the city though, they found themselves starving as well. 

So they said to themselves, "If we enter the city, we die. If we sit here we die. If we go to the enemy's camp, they may spare us, and if they kill us, well, we were gonna die anyway!"

So they get up and go to the enemy's camp and find it completely deserted. The story tells us that God had convinced the enemy that the Israelites had hired two of the most powerful nations in the world to fight with them. Fearing their now guaranteed demise, the enemy left their camp and fled for their lives. 

The four guys end up saving the entire city by delivering the news that the enemy is gone and there is food in their camp. 

The thing I like most about the story is the desperation of the four guys. They picked the best of three rotten options and committed. There may be some application here for those of us who find ourselves between a rock and a hard place, barely hanging on. 

We weigh our options, pick the best of them, and commit. The important thing is taking action. Coming up with a plan and being willing to see it through.

Fill Your Tank

By the time you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated. In fact, most of us are dehydrated all the time. The key to maintaining proper hydration is taking time to drink. 

The symptoms of dehydration include: dry skin, headaches, muscle cramps, dizziness, blurred vision, and rapid heart rate. Dehydration also negatively affects a person's mood. 

The idea is that you were made to be filled up and when you lose even 1-2% of your water volume, you lose your ability to function properly.

The struggle to keep ourselves filled up is not limited to hydration alone. We are constantly being depleted on a number of levels. The key to a healthy life is taking time to fill ourselves up. Setting aside time, either daily or weekly, to stop and recharge.

This can take many forms: for some it will be a time to be still, pray, meditate, read, or just listen; for others it will be activity: like running, biking, or hiking. It is probably best to do this alone, but not all of us recharge while alone, so do what is best for you.

The Bible calls this time shabbat. It's what God did after creating the world and what he commanded his people to do after their escape from Egypt. It is sometimes incorrectly translated "rest" but actually means to "cease from working." Shabbat is a break in the routine; a time to fill the tank back up.

Are you setting aside time to renew yourself? Oddly enough, the symptoms of a depleted body are similar to those of a depleted soul. Begin your practice of Shabbat today.