Why Am I Sick? Reason #4: Because of Exhaustion!

Are you just sick and tired?

Sometimes people are sick simply from exhaustion.

Daniel's Example

Daniel is the perfect biblical example of illness due to exhaustion.

Read Daniel 8:15-27.

Daniel had a vision pertaining to the end times. The vision was so disturbing to Daniel that he “was exhausted and sick for days.” It took Daniel several days to be able to go about his normal work tasks.

How many of us when we are exhausted actually stop and rest as Daniel did?

Personal Example

I remember before my wedding, my husband and I would stay up late talking on the phone until all hours of the night. Then there was the stress that came along with the wedding preparations.

After the wedding, we were so in love, we would stay up talking until the wee hours of the morning. My husband particularly was accustomed to going to bed early, so the late hours put a toll on his body. Staying up late was slowly wearing down our immune systems. Still we continued on.

After nearly a year into the marriage, my husband and I planned a special holiday event in our neighborhood. It seemed that there was not enough time in each day to accomplish everything we needed to do. I remember thinking that I didn't even have any time for myself.

And then it hit. My husband and I both came down with the flu. Our immune systems had run out of the power to fight off the virus. We had been eating right, etc., but our bodies were being overworked and overstressed.

I, who thought I didn't have any time for myself, miraculously found three weeks of "time-off" in bed. I wouldn't take the initiative to rest, but I got to the point where I was forced to rest.

My husband was also sick in bed for at least three weeks. We were unable to do our regular Christmas shopping. Our neighborhood holiday event was the one day we "had" to get out of bed so we would not disappoint our neighbors. We were miserable.

Rest when you are tired!

I learned a valuable lesson in the importance of rest. Now, if I feel tired or weak: I rest. If my husband feels tired or weak: he rests.

Our bodies are designed to tell us when they need rest. Listen to your body.

We need to be careful not to use tiredness as an excuse for laziness. But of equal importance, we need to not mistake genuinely needed rest as laziness.

Exhaustion, if not checked, will lead to illness. If you need to, take some time to rest.

Next: Why Am I Sick? Reason #5: Because of a Broken Spirit

Return To: Biblical Health Study