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There is a magical word in the English language that can liberate us from ever reaching the point of exhaustion. It is the word no. For some people this word comes easily, while others struggle to utter the single syllable from their lips. Sometimes we avoid saying no to people because we do not want to hurt their feelings, disappoint them, or appear weak.

Not too long after switching from a corporate job to full-time ministry, I had to learn the valuable lesson of saying no. People frequently offered some new ideas for ministry or asked for my assistance in something. I physically could not do everything that came my direction. More importantly, trying to do everything offered would have taken my attention away from what God had called me to do.

Learning to say no also helped protect my margins. As incredible as ministry is, and as awesome as it is to see God change lives, the burnout factor is real. Without protecting my time with God, my family time, and time for myself, I quickly became depleted and ran on fumes. When that happens, we can lose joy in doing the very thing we know in our hearts God called us to do.

Each of us is given the same 24 hours in a day. We can only do so much in those 24 hours, including time for sleeping, eating, working, family time, time with God, time alone, time with friends, enjoying hobbies…. We frequently try and cram as many things into our lives as possible. I can certainly be guilty of sacrificing sleep because I would rather be doing something else.

We have to learn to prioritize what God values in our lives and be able to say no to the things that may take away from it. This means we must save our time, effort, and energy for the key areas that are the most precious to us or have the greatest value. If we do this, we protect our family and marriage from wearing down and becoming exhausted.

- Taken from "A Joyful Family" book that is now available on Kindle and in paperback on Amazon.com