Burn-Out

For the first month of my fall routine, I was up at 7:30 – awake and excited to greet the day. I worked out faithfully, alternating my cardio and weight routines. I eagerly anticipated classes and work. My daily schedule worked well and I was happy.

Then October started and, well, things began to slip. Daylight is shorter, nights are longer, and the winter looms over the horizon. I would skip a workout here and there or sleep in a bit longer than usual and be tired and unmotivated all day long. I started to dread each day, the regularity of the schedule and the fight to fit everything into each day. I got caught in dialogues with myself between what I should do and what I wanted to do.  I was unhappy with the way I was feeling. I wanted to be excited again – to get my zeal back.

I started to think about how we deal with burn-out, or, rather, how we should deal with it. I know people who are living burned-out year after year and just barely get by, and I don’t think that is how we are supposed to live as Christians.

To properly deal with burn-out, you have to change your perspective.

It starts with moderation. Make sure you are re-charging, physically (healthy diet and proper amount of sleep) and spiritually (spending time in Scripture). Type-A people want to do everything, be everything, and think everything – all in one day. That’s just not realistic. I am not superhuman.  If I was up late the night before and need the extra half hour of sleep, it is really okay for me to skip a workout or move it to a different time in the day.  Between X and Y on my planner, I can take five minutes for a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows or listen to the new worship song a friend sent me. I can be a disciplined high achiever but still take the time and effort to enjoy life as it passes me by. Take a minute now and listen to “Every Good Thing” by Karyn Williams and The Afters – same title, different songs.

Try to look at things at different way – in a more positive way. See each day as a fresh, new gift from the Lord. Regardless of what mistakes you made yesterday, you can start again tomorrow. His grace and mercies will be there, as abundant as ever. “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore will I hope in Him’” (Lamentations 3:22-34, ESV).

Be thankful for the many, many blessings the Lord has given you. “And you shall rejoice in all the good that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house” (Deuteronomy 26:11, ESV). “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17, ESV). Make a list of the things you are thankful for. You can start right with the verse in James: be thankful for a God that is always the same – yesterday, today, and forever. There isn’t even a shadow of change in Him. He is always our constant, our Rock, our refuge, our strength (Psalm 18). You don’t have to be thankful for everything, but you can be thankful in everything (I Thessalonians 5:18).

Next, make every moment count – make every step of your race matter. As Christians, we are all running the race of life. Each race is individual – you are your only competitor. The end goal is not the only important thing. You want to run and run well (I Corinthians 9:24-27). What we often forget is that we are living in eternity right now. Eternity, by definition, does not have a starting point, which means it doesn’t start when we die and go to heaven. It is right now, and what we do now will matter in the rest of eternity. So, lay aside the weights that are hindering you and ask the Lord to help you run well (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Life’s Street
– Amy Carmichael

As when in some fair mountain place

Beneath an open roof of sky,

Where almost see we face to face,

All but perceive Thy host sweep by,

We feel our sin and folly fade –

Intrusive things that cannot be –

Smitten by glory and afraid,

Condemned by such high company.

So let it be, Lord, when we know

The pressures of life’s crowded street,

The ceaseless murmur of its flow,

The mud that lies about our feet.

O lift our souls; from star to star

We would ascend, until we be

In heavenly places still, afar –

The while we walk life’s street with Thee.

Lastly, commit everything to the Lord in prayer. Prayer should be the rhythm of our daily life. It keeps us in close connection with our Lord and lifts our eyes from the seen to the unseen. There is nothing too small or too big to bring before the throne of grace. What a precious privilege and resource prayer can be in our lives.

If you are feeling burned out today, like everything is the same, there is never enough time, or you are always exhausted, take a moment to look up and ask the Lord for His grace and refreshment. You will never be disappointed.

Awake, My Soul, In Joyful Lays

Awake, my soul, in joyful lays,

And sing thy great Redeemer's praise;

He justly claims a song from me,

His loving-kindness, oh, how free!

Loving-kindness, loving-kindness,

His loving-kindness, oh, how free!

He saw me ruined by the fall,

Yet love me not-withstanding all;

He saved me from my lost estate,

His loving-kindness, oh, how great!

Loving-kindness, loving-kindness,

His loving-kindness, oh, how great!

Though numerous hosts of mighty foes,

Though earth and hell my way oppose,

He safely leads my soul along,

His loving-kindness, oh, how strong!

Loving-kindness, loving-kindness,

His loving-kindness, oh, how, strong!

When trouble, like a gloomy cloud,

Has gathered thick and thundered loud,

He near my soul has always stood,

His loving-kindness, oh, how good!

Loving-kindness, loving-kindness,

His loving-kindness, oh, how good!

Soon shall we mount and soar away

To the bright realms of endless day,

And sing, with rapture and surprise,

His loving-kindness, in the skies.

Loving-kindness, loving-kindness,

His loving-kindness, in the skies.

- Samuel Medley (1738-1799)

"Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life,

my lips shall praise Thee."

- Psalm 63:3

The Battle

I am a soldier.

I forgot that the other day. I found myself discouraged, beat-down, miserable, and, honestly, ready to give up as I asked, “Why is this so hard, Lord?”

Because you, me, and every other believer are engaged in a spiritual battle.

Every day. Right now. Here.

And it is fought in a very dark world.

Before I continue, I assure you that this was not news to me. I have had Ephesians 6:10-18 memorized for years. In fact, it was one of the first long passages I ever memorized. Somehow in my ordinary, comfortable American life, it slipped my mind until I found myself up against a wall, so to speak, and under attack.

We can forget that the world is a dark place that God has allowed to be temporarily under the rule of the evil one. Amy Carmichael talks about the tendency to think that the darkness is “merely a lesser light. Many books now say that it is so; but to read the New Testament is to breathe a different air” (Plowed Under, 61).

Our pastor recently preached on I Peter 5:8-9: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

Satan is currently – present tense – walking to and fro (Job 1:7) as a roaring lion, looking for his prey. As our pastor pointed out, there are different stages in getting one’s prey. First the lion will stalk his target silently. Then, right before he pounces, he roars. “Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?” (Amos 3:4). The lion roars to terrify his prey so it will freeze it right in its tracks instead of fleeing.

From the beginning, Satan and his minions have been fighting, not only to keep blinders on those who are unsaved, but also to tear apart churches, families, and individuals. The accuser of the brethren and father of lies will do all he can to cause believers to doubt God and fall into sin, thereby nullifying their witness for Christ. If Satan can immobilize a believer, then he has accomplished his purpose. He does not want our lights to shine, people to hear the truth, or righteousness to have an impact. He does not want good to triumph over evil or justice to prevail over injustice.

One of Satan’s master tactics is camouflage. Darkness doesn’t always look like darkness. In modern America, the corporate world seems like a place to find success, wealth, and a name. The darkness is hidden behind the socializing, shopping, nice house, new car, and city life. It doesn’t seem as potent, like the idol worship and Satanic practices Amy Carmichael confronted in India or sex slavery in South America. We could all agree that the latter two are examples of real darkness, but we are often not so sure about the first. It just looks good. And there is nothing wrong with a good job and success, but Satan can use it to lull us into a life of pleasure, self-focus, and complacency.

I listened today to a recording of one of Elisabeth Elliot’s talks entitled “Confidence in God.” She said that as Christians, we do not need to fear evil, but rather confront it because “greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4). God is stronger than the devil and all his evil plans. And, in the end, God wins. The final outcome has already been determined, as Revelation vividly tells us.

But what about right now? The end is still yet to come. We’re still here fighting. 

First, we must be clothed in the armor of God and actively use our Sword of the Spirit – the powerful, piercing Word of God. Christ used the same weapon against the devil that He tells us to use: Scripture. Second, a key element of successful warfare is to know your enemy. We find several of the enemy’s tactics in Genesis 3, and he still uses them today. Put on your armor, be vigilant, and fight uncompromisingly, drawing on Christ for your strength. 

“Through God we shall do valiantly:

for He it is that shall tread down our enemies”

 – Psalm 60:12

As a follower of Christ, you are a soldier. You might say you were immediately drafted when you became a Christian. The battle is raging around you. Are you engaged? Are you guarding against attack? Or have you been caught sleeping on watch and become an easy victim?

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,

but against principalities, against powers,

against the rulers of the darkness of this world,

against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

 – Ephesians 6:12

Here was Amy’s advice to a young worker in their band of missionaries: “The fight to which we have been called is not an easy fight. We are touching the very center of the devil’s power and kingdom, and he hates us intensely and fights hard against us. We have no chance at all of winning in this fight unless we are disciplined soldiers, utterly out-and-out and uncompromising, and men and women of prayer” (Candles in the Dark, 17).

You will not be successful in battle if you don’t know how to use your sword or if you fail to communicate with your Commander in Chief. Are you reading His Word, meditating on it, and memorizing it so it is hidden in your heart when you need it? Are you spending time in prayer? If you are seeking Him through prayer and Scripture, He will be faithful to equip you for battle.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the strength of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?”

Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear:

though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.”

 – Psalm 27:1, 3

It is in the battle that Christ shows us the might of His power.

“When the battle is joined, ‘the first result is a great exhibition of Satanic power.

Satan’s power to be manifested must be assaulted.

It is by what He conquers that Christ’s power is to be discovered.'”

 – Amy Carmichael

Not only does God use the battle to show us His power, but also to forge us into warriors for Him – Damascus steel, as Amy Carmichael calls it.

“The swords that made their way from India through Damascus into Europe,

and were then known as Damascus blades, were not wrought with ease

or in a day. Just because it was appointed for high uses, that metal was

plunged again and again into the furnace and beaten blow upon blow

till at last the fine Damascus steel was forged, so strong and yet so flexible

that (to quote Ivanhoe) Saladin could sever a gossamer veil thrown into

the air by drawing his scimitar across it. There was no easier way then to

forge and to temper that kind of steel, nor is there now, nor can ever be.”

 – Amy Carmichael, Plowed Under

God has a purpose for the heat of the battle. He will use it to mold us further into the image of His Son, so that in the end, we might come forth as gold.

If you are reading this tonight and are under attack from Satan, do not lose heart. Remain steadfast. Resist the devil. God is stronger – stronger than Satan, stronger than his attacks, stronger than the plans of evil men. Christ will be victorious. Justice will be served and Satan will be defeated. Greater and stronger is He that it is in us – He that makes us overcomers.

“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world:

and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

 – I John 5:4

I think one of the reasons I forgot my position as a soldier is because the battle is invisible, but it is no less real than that which is seen. In fact, Satan would like us to think that, just because we cannot see the principalities and powers nor can we see God, they are less real than the physical world we perceive through the senses. It is simply not so.

“You cannot see the loving eyes of your Lord or see His hand stretched out to help you.

And yet you are trusted to go on just as if you saw. You are trusted to endure

as seeing Him who is invisible, your Redeemer, your Captain, and your Lord.

There is no life that is not at times hardly beset. We are not called to be

weaklings but warriors. So let no one be surprised when the enemy

comes in like a flood. There is not one word in the Bible to tell us to expect

to be overwhelmed, for the moment the enemy comes like a flood,

that very moment the Spirit of the Lord lifts up a standard against him (Isa. 59:19)

and makes us strong to endure as seeing Him who is invisible.”

 – Amy Carmichael, Candles in the Dark

Fight hard, fight well. God is with you.