What is the antidote for burnout?

Isaiah 40:28-31Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

When you are weary, trusting in the Lord is a key to renewal and refreshment. Trusting in the Lord is the patient expectation that God will give you his power and strength to persevere through life’s difficulties. He promises to help you soar like an eagle and run like a marathoner when you draw your strength from him. Trusting God may be difficult, but it is far more rewarding than giving up.

Exodus 18:21-23Select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God. . . . They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you. If you follow this advice . . . then you will be able to endure the pressures.

Delegate some of your workload. Delegation can ease your burden, multiply your effectiveness, and allow other people to grow. Demonstrate responsibility by choosing wise helpers who can carry out the work on your behalf.

Exodus 23:12You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working. This gives your ox and your donkey a chance to rest. It also allows your slaves and the foreigners living among you to be refreshed.

The Sabbath rest was one of the gifts God gave to his people for healthy living. When people are tired, their productivity decreases dramatically. Rest refreshes and energizes us to be more productive. Regular, consistent, weekly rest is an important part of avoiding and recovering from burnout.

2 Samuel 17:28-29They brought sleeping mats, cooking pots, serving bowls, wheat and barley, flour and roasted grain, beans, lentils, honey, butter, sheep, goats, and cheese for David and those who were with him. For they said, “You must all be very hungry and tired and thirsty after your long march through the wilderness.”

Burnout should be met with practical responses. Here, people who appreciated David and his men took action to meet their desperate need for food and rest without being asked. Do you know someone you can pray for or for whom you could perform a practical task?

1 Kings 19:5-8As [Elijah] was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” . . . So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God.

Like the best physician, God prescribed rest and food for his burned-out prophet, Elijah, after his life had become dangerously wearying. Take good care of your body by exercising, resting, and eating nutritious meals.

Proverbs 30:1I am weary, O God; I am weary and worn out, O God.

God doesn’t expect us to put on a false face or to mask our feelings when we come to him. He already knows how we feel. Part of the practice of prayer is actually trusting God with our feelings, including burnout.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father . . . comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.

When you or others need an extra measure of endurance, pray to God for the strength to keep going. There is a spiritual strength that only God can give, and you can receive it by asking.

Psalm 23:1-3The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.

Rest, peace, renewal—these were images David associated with God’s constant presence in his life. Most of Psalm 23 celebrates that God was David’s everything, just like a shepherd who gives his sheep all they need. That outlook builds resistance to burnout.

Matthew 11:28-29Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

When you feel burned out, it is crucial to renew your fellowship with God through Jesus. Jesus offers rest from our burdens of sin and shame the first moment we come to him, and he continues to offer rest from all our troubles over the course of our lives.

Zechariah 4:6This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit.

Recognizing where your ability ends and God’s power begins is an essential part of avoiding burnout. Maybe you are putting too much of a burden on your own shoulders. Remember that if God decides to accomplish something through you, there is nothing that can stop you.