What To Do When You Feel Sluggish… Hello weekend readers. Kind of a funny idea in a devotion, but stop for a moment and think of the times you feel sluggish. It may be now, or later on, but ‘sluggish’ is really a tug on the heart. Merriam Webster Dictionary says it this way: 1) Averse to activity or exertion. 2) Indolent or torpid is part of sluggish. 3) Slow to respond and inactive or slow.

In Proverbs 20:4 [TPT] we must heed these words: “If you’re too lazy to plant seed, it’s too bad when you have no harvest on which to feed.” In other words, ‘sluggards’ will find nothing if they do nothing!

I want to share a story about an old mountaineer and his wife. The story has been around many years but still going and there is a good reason for it and you get a chuckle as well!

The old mountaineer and his wife were sitting in front of the fireplace one evening just passing the time. Soon, they heard what they thought were raindrops falling on the roof of their small house. After a few minutes, his wife said, “Jed, I think it’s raining. Go outside and see.” He grumped a bit and sat in his chair. His wife said aren’t you going out there? It’s hard rain now and I don’t want rain coming into the house! He didn’t budge, until his wife got up and stared with angry eyes-Jed get off your butt-NOW! Oops, he was in trouble. Yet he continued to gaze into the fire, then sighed and said “I know what to do. Why don’t we just call in the dog and see how wet it is.” Obviously, that did not enhance his wife’s attitude!

There’s no doubt that, just like that farmer, there are those days when you just don’t feel like doing much. But the problem with so many today is that one day turns to two, then a week, then months go by and you’re still just calling in the dog to see if it’s raining outside! There are different reasons for being “sluggish”—some of involve your physical or emotional state. Yet all too often, sluggishness is simply an indication of laziness, which the Bible says will have a negative impact on your life if you keep doing it.

Pastor Derek Brown shares the Scriptures to help us think:  1) The Sluggard Will Not Start Things  2) The Sluggard Will Not Finish Things  3) The Sluggard Will Not Face Hard Things  4) The Sluggard Is Anxious and Restless  5) The Sluggard Has Constant Trouble  6) The Sluggard Is a Nuisance to Others  7) The Sluggard Is Self-Deceived  8) The Sluggard Won’t Become a Leader

Good News for Sinful Sluggards… Indulging laziness is contrary to our design as humans and contrary to our calling as Christians. But we can’t draw ourselves out of the morass of inaction by sheer determination. We need God’s grace and a glimpse of Christ revealed in the gospel. The good news of salvation apart from works motivates us to labor diligently in this brief life on earth for the glory of God, the good of others, and our own benefit. And the energizing Spirit of Christ compels us to sharpen our God-given skills so we might be useful to our King and to our friends and family, to courageously face and complete difficult tasks, and to avoid the unnecessary trouble of laziness!