Check Your Gauges
by Clint Chamberlain
It is irrelevant for me to ask how you are doing, and what you have been up to because I already know the answer. If you are like the Chamberlain tribe, we are trying to figure out how to social distance, shelter in place, take care of loved ones, track down toilet paper, etc. Isn’t it amazing how fast our “normal” can change? Not that anything happening in our world is normal, but you know what I mean.
When life is heavy, and the unknown seems to be overwhelming, we need to know how to manage our emotions. I have found the best way to do that is to focus on the things I know to be true. Like the fact that I love God, and He loves me. In Matthew 22:34-40, Jesus is having a conversation with the Pharisees, who question which is the greatest commandment in the Law, again trying to trap him. Jesus quotes a passage right out of the Law in Deuteronomy 6 that says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” The greatest commandment is loving God as the “whole person,” heart, soul and mind.
I have been reminded in a significant way these past few weeks that I really need to practice what I preach. Over the years as I have offered biblical guidance, I have regularly encouraged individuals to check their gauges. If the greatest commandment is for me to love God with everything, even when things hard, even when the COVID-19 pandemic is taking place, wouldn’t it be helpful to be able to determine how I am doing? Enter the gauges of our lives. Jesus says to love with our heart, soul and mind, for our gauge conversation lets us make that our physical, spiritual and emotional selves.
I want to give you a quick example to help you determine where you are. Imagine the gauges on the dashboard of your car. They have an indicator that will point to empty or full, cold or hot, charging or discharging, etc. Those gauges are important (I often remind my wife and daughter) because they indicate how the car is operating, how long before we need to add fuel, or that the battery is going dead. There are also gauges in our lives. We need to know how to read, pay attention and make adjustments to prevent problems. Let us take a look at our gauges:
The Physical Gauge
How do I tell if my gauge is full or empty?
Indicators that my physical gauge is low:
- migraine headaches
- weight gain
- poor sleep
- low energy level
When I notice these markers, I re-charge the physical by checking the disciplines in my life. I make sure I am exercising on a regular basis. I watch what I eat and when I eat. I limit screen time. I make sure to get to bed at a decent time. When this happens, it is not long before the gauge reads healthy again.
The Emotional Gauge
Indicators that my emotional gauge is low:
- Low compassion level
- Judgmental
- Take things way too personal
- Short-tempered
The bottom line is that I get ingrown eyes, and everything revolves around me, my time and my stuff. I have found over the years that the emotional and spiritual gauges in a Christ-follower’s life are closely connected; therefore, they share some of the same indicators and solutions.
In order to re-charge my emotional life, I need to practice intentional solitude. This is a planned time to get off the grid, disconnect from email, social media, the cell phone and people. I ask myself what is going into my mind: what kind of music, books, movies, podcasts and images. Solitude is not running from your problems, but it is taking some planned time to let your brain rest and re-boot. In this age of technology, there are thousands of things competing for our attention all at once. A new study by the research firm Dscout shows that ten percent of smartphone users click, tap or swipe their phone 5,427 times a day. The average smartphone user swipes 2,617 times a day. I remember reading a book titled Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives. Richard Swenson gives an example of looking at a page in a book that has no margin, no white space around the edges, completely full of text, top to bottom and side to side. He then talks about how reading that page makes one feel uncomfortable, uncertain of where things begin or end. The same thing happens in our lives when we don’t create a margin.
The Spiritual Gauge
Indicators that my spiritual gauge is running low:
- Shallow prayer life (thank you for the meat let’s eat)
- Unfocused prayers that don’t reach the heart of God
- A shopping list of prayers
- Conversation with my Savior stops
- Obligatory quiet time rather than time with Jesus
- Shallow worship that can become judgmental (music is too loud, she sang off key, who picks these songs). I’m not proud about this, just keeping it real.
How do I recharge? Enter solitude. Remember I told you that the emotional and spiritual are interconnected?
When practicing solitude, I create space for a “brain dump.” I start with prayer as I become still and just listen. When random thoughts come into my mind, I stop and write them down. I have filled up four pages before in a legal pad. Eventually there comes a moment when I can truly be still and know that He is God. My focus can now truly be on Him and His word.
I then begin looking at a Scripture passage that I have already been reading such as our current daily reading plan we are going through as a church. Other times there may be specific topics I want to look at such as fear, money or marriage. I take the time to read, pray and then journal about what God is showing me in and through His word.
Why is this important? It helps me focus on the “what” instead of the “why” in my life. It is easy to become occupied with the “why,” but I have come to realize God cares more about the “what.” In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul says we are all ministers of the New Covenant, and for us to be those ministers, we are to become transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor 3:18).
Transformation is the “what” and for that to happen, we must love God with our whole person—physically, spiritually and emotionally—heart, soul and mind. I challenge you to take time today to check your gauges and to be honest with yourself. We can feel like the world is falling apart, and there is no better time than now to make sure you are loving God with everything. Welcome to the journey called life!
Author Bio
Clint Chamberlain is the Executive Pastor for Outside-the-Walls Ministries at Council Road. He has been on staff for almost 17 years. Clint has a desire to see the church active and to make a difference both locally and globally by living out its mission to be salt and light. He has been married to wife, Deb, for 38 years, has three children and five grandchildren. He feels closest to God when he is outdoors and experiences God’s creation first hand.