Overcoming Burnout

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Dear Friends,
January 1st: I read something this morning in my time with God that really touched my heart and gave me courage to persevere with the changes in my life. For me it took an illness. My hope and prayer is that it will not take that for you to make changes to overcome burnout. I am sure most of you can totally identify with what I am about to share. I have been trying to make changes but feel a bit strange because it seems counter cultural and is also producing a bit of stress on those who see a different Ruth (being more honest and direct about my feelings). I am sure it is that we are all feeling the same stresses but don’t know how to get off the rollercoaster. Jesus took rest from the crowds. For me this is a really rich time of taking the time to really get to know the real me and my Lord in a real way. We don’t learn to REALLY trust until we are challenged and need to let go and let God take control. He shows His power in weakness. It is Him doing the work and not us. There is no doubt. I feel like every step takes every emotional energy that I have. I feel emotionally (not physically) very tired but so many wonderful blessings are coming my way unexpectedly with out me lifting my finger. Thank you Lord. I don’t take sleeping for granted. Not sleeping extra. Finally, sleeping (although not all the time). I am not the one used to being given the Love Offering from the church (what an unexpected blessing from a struggling congregation and from people who I know have much less then I have but gave from their hearts out of love for me), and the women’s group of another church putting together a lovely basket of things they contributed to my wellness. Did you know that there are socks that have aloe in them and moisturize your feet while you were them and they are also keep your feet very cozy. The Lord is really blessing and providing encouragement exactly when I feel like giving up. He says persevere.

I’d like to share with you what I read January 1st which impacted me and is something great to keep in mind and put into practice as the new year starts. There are some great tips the second part of this e-mail. People everywhere are feeling burned out and exhausted and those of us with physical and emotional weakness are feeling even more burned out. In this time of healing from the impact of this past year I am having to be more careful as to how I live life and setting of priorities. I am learning where to say no in order to minimize the stress that is not necessary. I am living a very full life, but with much more quality and the opportunity to recharge here and there. The following is taken from “The Soul Care Bible: Overcoming Burnout, H. B. London (Isaiah 40:31) with some inserts and comments from me:


Will a human being ever swim across the ocean?” Run a one minute mile? Go six months with out sleeping? Of course not, because of the established fact of human limits. Yet because of the rapidly changing conditions of modern living-largely due to progress always giving us more and more of everything faster and faster- we are attempting to exceed our limits in scores of areas all at the same time. The pain is palpable. People everywhere are collapsing in exhaustion wondering what hit them. What hit them was overload. This can be defined as the point at which are limits are exceeded.

Stress is such an accepted part of our modern culture that most of us accept it as normal. In reality, stress distorts our physical, mental, and emotional health, and affects our attitudes, marriages, work, and even ministry. We can overload ourselves to the point that we burn out and are no longer effective in God’s work.

Maximizing everything has, of course, become the American way. We push the limits as far as possible. We spend more than we have- whether it be money, time, or energy. Jesus, however, never seemed to be in a hurry. There is no indication that he worked 24 hour days. He went to sleep each night without having healed every disease in Israel. He followed God’s agenda, and so He was perfectly effective.

Jesus understood what it means to be human-and what it means to have limits. Jesus knew what it meant to prioritize and balance in light of these limits and how to focus on the truly important (Ruth’s insert: SO TRUE ON THIS JOURNEY. The focus is on getting well and doing the basics of Doctor’s appointments, work, laundry, bills, cleaning, eating well, exercise-my 2miles to work walk and 2 miles back. Thankfully there is time for relaxing with friends, and some e-mails and phone calls-hard to keep up on. I am learning to say no. Trying to lessen the load on my plate where possible and live on the essentials. I am cleaning out the clutter of my life in every aspect. I can’t put anything more on the plate until I take some things away.)

How do we know when we have reached our limits? If a car overheats, an indicator light goes on alerting us to the danger. Unfortunately, we don’t have such a visible system in most cases. Therefore, we have to be more honest with ourselves about our limits. (Ruth’s Insert: My limits are different then they were before. It also leaves more room for last minute opportunities should I be able to.)

From the beginning, rest has had a special significance for God (Genesis 2:3). This rest is not always easy, however. Even Moses had difficulty obeying the call to rest. He experienced unrelieved stress trying to keep two million Israelites happy as they wandered in the wilderness. God called Moses to rest and to delegate some responsibilities. Soon others helped carry Moses’ burden and his stress became more manageable (Num 11:11-17).

God’s calling in our lives does not eliminate stress and burnout automatically. No where does the Bible promise to ease all the stress in our lives. It does promise God’s peace when we allow Him to control our lives and shape our decisions. He gives us practical ways to limit stress and avoid burnout in the framework of His design for our lives.

(Ruth’s insert: Here are some practical tips. As I read them I realized that God has already been teaching me these tips and I have been implementing them in my life. It was nice to see some confirmation to continue and persevere.)

Accept Responsibility

We must never relinquish control of our schedules to the unpredictable and sometimes ruthless whims of the world or the demands of others. We should be active in self-examination. Nobody is locked in to anything. Each of us can accomplish the needed changes if we want them badly enough.

Acknowledge Limits

We can schedule our days more sanely, more humanly, and more relationally. We need not apologize for wanting a good night’s sleep; we need not believe the lie that “well-rested” is a synonym for sluggardly.”

Understand God’s Will

God never guides us into an intolerable scramble of over worked feverishness. We will gain more time by properly understanding God’s will for us than by all the time-saving suggestions put together.

Consciously Slow The Pace Of Life

The pace of life has become deadly. We simply cannot permit each year to bring an increase in speed and not get caught in the exhausting consequences of such a frenzy.

Define and Defend Boundaries

Jesus did not minister to everybody in Israel, even though He could have. Remember that it is not necessary to have more compassion than the almighty.

Learn To Say NO

It is easy to say no to a root canal or a colonoscopy. It is far more difficult to say no to things that are interesting or enjoyable. Yet even if everything we are doing is enjoyable, if we do not learn to say no, overload will overwhelm us.

Get Less Done, But Do The Right Things

We would do well to consider doing less, but radically prioritizing. Remember, the multiplying coefficient for our labor is the power of the Holy Spirit. The same God who spoke the universe into existence sees our faithful efforts and instructs the Holy Spirit to expand the benefit to whatever level best glorifies Him.

May you be encouraged this new year and take measures to stop burnout before it gets you.

For His Glory,

Ruth