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.