Many pastors talk about the Monday morning blues.
Where do we find Elijah after the incredible high of dealing with the prophets of Baal, seeing God work in incredible ways? We find him depressed and complaining that there is no one to support him, and he may as well die.
It is common to find yourself in a ‘blue’ state after a spiritual high.
It can also be a dangerous place as you might find temptation a lovely distraction.
What can you do?
Some Pastors like to work on Mondays, do office and administration tasks, this helps.
Others like to have Monday off to recover.
For me, I like to give myself a break on Monday. To consciously decide to not think about ministry or the church. That is a lot harder than it sounds. In this age of social and electronic media, people often want to talk about some issue in their life, an administrative issue or something else. And even in my own head space, a lot of things go whirling around.
Setting boundaries on Monday is important. I generally don’t answer the phone. But I find it hard to shut myself off completely. It is something I am working on. I even find it hard to relax!
For the long haul, making a conscious decision to rest will mean I will be more effective and ‘level’ in the long run.