I have felt a little frustrated lately…I think I have just been tired.  When I feel frustrated I am reminded of a sermon I heard Charles Stanley preach years ago.  He said when you are frustrated you should halt.  Halt before you do something you might regret.  He went on to give an acronym for H.A.L.T. and say that we often become frustrated when we are too Hungry, too Angry, too Lonely or too Tired.  When we recognize that we are in one of those conditions it is time to halt.  When I am frustrated I do my best to HALT and I also try to remember Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”  It is good to remind myself that God is in control.  I can be still, relax and allow Him to minister to me, comfort me, lead me, and guide me.  There is no need for me to be frustrated; I don’t have to have all the answers.  I just have to halt and let the Lord be my Lord.

How about you?  Are you frustrated today?  Are you too hungry?  The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are to glorify God in our body.  That means we need to walk right and talk right and it means we need to eat right.  Some of us need to eat right – right now for the sake of our testimony.  The Snickers candy bar commercial is right…we are not ourselves when we are hungry.  You may not sound like Joe Peschi but chances are if you go around hungry long enough you won’t sound like a child of the King of Kings either.  I understand trying to drop a few pounds, my belt being on the last notch can attest to that but we have to remember that we don’t gain our weight in one day, we don’t lose it in one day either.  Be sensible about what you eat or don’t eat.  It would be a shame to lose more friends than pounds….

Are you too angry?  For me sometimes being hungry leads to being angry and the Bible says in James 1:20 “the anger of man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.”  Ask the Lord to help you to deal with your anger.  Ask Him for discernment to be able to recognize situations and people that get you riled up and ask Him for wisdom to deal with those situations and people in a way that brings Him glory and honor.  You will likely find that there are simply some places you should not go and some people you rarely need to see.

Are you too lonely?  Way back in the beginning in Genesis 2:18 the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”  We were created in God’s image.  Not only does that mean that we have emotions, free will and the ability to reason, but it also means that we have an innate desire for fellowship.  It is not good to be alone or to feel lonely.  Feeling lonely for an extended period of time does something to our physiology and can lead to depression.  If you feel depressed, pray and ask the Lord for relief.  And make an appointment to see your doctor.  The Lord has ordained the use of physicians.  Whether healing comes from a doctor or prayer or a combination thereof it all originates from the Great Physician.  When you pray, ask the Lord to bless you with godly companionship and fellowship. Ask Him to help you not feel lonely or to be alone.  You CAN find a friend.  You CAN find a body of believers who will welcome you.  And I know that as you pray for godly relationships to be established in your life that the Lord Himself will embrace you, comfort you and encourage you.

Are you too tired?  Here is the secret you won’t find on Google, grab a pencil.  Ready?  Get some rest!  I know, I know.   You have too much to do.  That is the way it was in Mark chapter 6.  The disciples were helping Jesus minister to the crowds and people kept coming and coming.  There was so much work to do.  Yet, in the midst of all that work to do, with so much yet to be done, Jesus tells the disciples in Mark 6:31, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)”

See, Jesus said it before Charles Stanley.  HALT!  Stop what you are doing and rest!  Everything does not depend on you.  Get to a secluded place where you can relax; a place where you can let God meet your needs and minister to you!  HALT and do the right thing so that you don’t go on in your own strength and do the wrong thing.  Take the time to simply be still and know that He is God.  He is in control and ultimately He will be exalted among the nations, He will be exalted in the earth!”

Until next time, stay strong in the faith.