I have an iPhone, and I’ve noticed there are times it can be super fast, but there are times it just drags. And sometimes it seems like the battery just drains without my even using it.
One day I was glancing through Facebook while I was in line somewhere (on my phone, of course) and came across an article on 5 ways to improve the iPhone’s performance.
There was one tip in particular that stuck out to me. They said to operate at maximum efficiency I should close my apps when I’m done with them. The more apps I have open, the less efficient my phone is. And it drains my battery faster.
The more I thought about their advice, the more I thought it would be good for so much more than my iPhone. It would also be good for life.
Close Your Apps
Huh? Close my apps? I thought I did that. When I’m done with Facebook, I press the little button and I’m right back to my home screen. App closed, right?
Not really. It might not be open on my homepage, but in the background, that app is still open and working. It’s draining my battery and using my memory and slowing down my phone.
In order to close my app, I have to go past the home screen into the background and close it completely.
It doesn’t even take much time or effort to do it, but I usually forget. In fact, my daughter usually does it for me. I think the most I’ve ever had open at once was 24. (Oh my! I didn’t even know I had that many apps.)
Our minds are like our iPhones. The more apps we have open the less efficiently we run. And we get drained.
Sometimes we pride ourselves on our ability to multitask. To do it all. To go and go and go and go and keep opening more apps and never close any of them. And we barely give ourselves time to recharge before we open even more apps and go some more.
And then we’re shocked we slow down. Or get edgy. Or feel overwhelmed. Shocked when we have a meltdown because, “I must not be strong. I must be a failure. I should be able to handle all this. I give up.”
We may be fearfully and wonderfully made, but we weren’t made to be robots.
If you’re running slowly, you may need to just check up to see if you’ve closed the apps in the background.
Cast Your Cares
Sometimes we’re running slow because we’re worried, and that will drain the energy right out of us. We need to do what I Peter 5 says, “Cast all of your cares on Him because He cares for you.”
We cannot out-need His all-sufficiency. Our needs will never drain His bank account. Even if we needed $100,000, that would still be pocket change in comparison to His supply.
Our need will never be bigger than His provision. Our sickness could never be stronger than His power to heal. Our weakness will never be bigger than the reserves of His strength.
Close the Worry app. He will ALWAYS be bigger than our need. ALWAYS!
Unrealistic Expectations
We may be feeling overwhelmed because we have unrealistic expectations of ourselves. And believe me when I tell you, this will drain your battery. Fast.
Newsflash: Your house doesn’t always have to be immaculate and it’s okay to order pizza every once in a while instead of cooking every night.
With my perfectionist personality, this is an area I struggle with. I expect more of myself than anyone else does, more than really is humanly possible, and it can weigh me down.
The truth is, my kids aren’t going to remember if my house is dusty on January 24, 2015. They aren’t going to remember if we ordered pizza tonight or if I cooked a five-course meal.
They are going to remember, however, if I was stressed all the time and insecure because I didn’t measure up to my unrealistic expectations.
Relax. Let yourself be human. Choose to do the most important things (people) and the rest will get done eventually. Say it with me now, “It’s okay to let some things go.”
This is an app we need to close. Permanently. And never open again.
Too Many Yeses
Sometimes we’ve got too many yeses going on. We feel that if we’re really walking in love and if we’re really serving Him, we have to say yes to everyone and everything.
But that’s not true. And if we do, we’ll run our battery out in no time.
That doesn’t mean we say no to everyone and everything either. There’s a healthy balance somewhere in the middle.
Jesus had balance. He healed the sick and raised the dead and went about teaching and preaching and healing. But He also withdrew with His disciples. He went to weddings. He sat at Mary and Martha’s house for dinner.
He said yes to others. A lot. But He also said yes to rest. To time away on the mountain. He knew when to do the work and when to send His disciples out to do it.
It’s okay to close the Yes app every once in a while and rest. Recharge our battery so we can say yes another day.
I’m a work in progress here, how about you? There are times I remember to close my apps. And there are times I still need a reminder to do it.
So, let’s just take this reminder today. What apps do you need to close?
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30)