Burnout
Not long after arriving in Australia, I was quickly confronted with conversation after conversation of individuals feeling burned out, from those in the cities to smaller communities. This intense emotion had run rampant. Therefore, when I was asked to speak to the staff of an at-risk school for Aboriginal girls, I instantly knew this emotional breakdown needed to be highlighted.
As I prayed, I felt the Lord give me a handful of tips on how to avoid the pitfalls of burnout. This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a few things the Lord highlighted for me to share in the limited time I had been given to share with the group.
The first item that was highlighted was the importance of recognizing that just because there is a need, it doesn’t mean it’s what we are called to do. We are to stay sensitive to the Lord’s still, small voice and not be overwhelmed by the need in front of us. Jesus is a prime example of this. He was surrounded by the needy. And yet He didn’t try to fix everyone or meet everyone’s needs. Instead, He only did what He saw the Father doing, and in Mathew 26:11 He says, “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.” Jesus is clear that need will always exist because we live in a fallen world. This doesn’t mean we ignore the need; instead, we are to determine what our part is supposed to be and fulfill that piece ONLY.
For those of us who are “doers,” this concept is challenging. And yet, if we strip it down, this response that we need to meet all the needs presented before us is pride. By taking on roles that God did not call us to, we will ultimately lead people to focus on ourselves instead of on Jesus. God knows how each situation will unfold, and He knows whether we are meant to be part of the puzzle or if we will become a hindrance. Therefore, we are only to take on the roles He asks us to take on.
Next, the Lord knows our motives. When we are in a position where we have to raise our support or where our job relies on outcomes, we can feel the pressure to “perform”. Pressure to “do”. And yet God did not call us to be human “doings” but human “beings”. When we strive to make things happen in our strength, we cannot sustain the intense activity because we are relying on our strength and not on the strength of Christ. For Christ did not call us to take on the sin of the world. He already did that. Instead, He calls us to point people to Him and then step aside. Even if this means someone else leads a person to the Lord that we’ve been ministering to for years, or someone else gets credit for our hard work. For we are called to do only the part of the puzzle that God has called us to, and let others do what God has called them to do. We are not to worry if we get credit or not.
Once we’ve ONLY picked up what God has asked us to pick up, we’ve laid down our pride, and we have learned to not worry so much about getting credit for the “doing,” we are on our way to staying away from burnout. And yet there is one more piece that is vital.
AWE.
A sunrise, the delicate design of a flower, or the whisper of God in His Word—all are seeds of awe waiting to take root in our hearts if we pause long enough to notice.- J Weisbrod
“Pausing long enough to notice”. Do we do this? Do we choose to do less, be present more, and wait to be engulfed by the AWE of who the Living God is? Somehow, this concept of doing less is not popular. Instead, it’s always about how much more we can cram in a day and how much MORE we can accomplish. How much MORE can we show people that we can do? Yet what is the cost? What are we proving?
Finding and staying in that place of AWE of the Living God is the ultimate key to avoiding burnout. And this doesn’t happen overnight. He beckons us to carve out time for Him. For when we have lost our AWE of Christ, what are we leading people to?
The reality is, you and I can’t lead people to places with Jesus we haven’t been.-Kari Jobe
Which means if we haven’t captured that place of the AWE of Christ in our own life, how can we point people to this Living Savior? How can we look into the depths of their hearts and fully believe that they can grasp how high, how deep, how long, and how wide the love of Christ is for them if we don’t experience it regularly?
We can’t give out of an empty bucket.
“All creation will stand in awe of You, O Eternal One. Thanks will pour from the mouths of every one of Your creatures; Your holy people will bless You. They will not be silent; they will talk of the grandeur of Your kingdom and celebrate the wonder of Your power. Until everyone on earth who has ears to hear knows Your valiant acts and the splendor of Your kingdom.” Psalms 145:10-12
Burnout can happen to any of us. But if we only do what we see the Father doing and stay in a place of AWE of the Living God, we will be able to take on the challenges that come our way without burnout overtaking us.
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