God’s prescription for burn out

The last few days all I’ve wanted to do is sleep. During the past few weeks, people warned me to take care of me as I take care of others, but I thought I was. However, I was wrong. I am very tired and even discouraged.

Even though I think that I know what to do, I asked God to give me a Word that would confirm what He prescribes. No surprise that today’s devotional is about a major cause of burn out. It is losing the ability to withstand hardship or stress because it seems pointless. God is not doing anything; nothing is happening. However, He says otherwise . . .

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10)

He says “Be still, and know” who He is, and then wait for it. Chambers says tenacity goes beyond endurance because it is combined with an absolute assurance that what I am looking for is going to happen because God said so. Hanging in there is the supreme effort of refusing to believe that my hero is going to be conquered. Jesus will win. The things He stands for — love, justice, forgiveness, and goodness — will win out in the end, even if right now it seems all of that has been pushed aside in a world full of hate, injustice, and evil. In all that I experience (or do not experience) I can never forget that God is still on His throne and in the end, Jesus wins.

But Chambers also says that my hopes are being disappointed just now because God is purifying them. He is allowing me to experience the strain of waiting for Him. This will develop spiritual tenacity. Honestly, I’d rather not learn this lesson, yet must admit that being impatient, discouraged, burned out, and feeling hopeless is worse than His purifying process.

So I looked up some verses about patience. In the Bible, it is steadfast endurance, or “the power to withstand hardship or stress; especially the inward fortitude necessary” and is always about waiting for something that I cannot yet see. God has a Word for me on this also . . . 

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:25)

As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (James 5:10–11)

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Colossians 1:11–12)

Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. (Revelation 3:10–11)

How can a person withstand in the waiting? What will keep me from losing hope? How can I keep going without burning out? Oddly enough, enduring strength comes from waiting . . .

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:29–31)

Endurance comes from keeping my eyes on Jesus and looking forward to what is coming later rather than looking only at what is happening right now. My problems and discouragements are not so bad . . .

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Hebrews 12:3–4)

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16–18)

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

The most important aspect of waiting on God is spending time with Him. This is not necessarily about taking my list of “I wants” to Him, but more about listening to His reaffirming voice as He speaks to me and affirming in praise what I know is true about Him. Be still, and know that He is God!

He is here, now and always

On the farm where I grew up, we had a few milk cows. When their calves were old enough, they had to be weaned from their mothers. Neither cow nor calf were happy about that process. Both bawled and walked the fence, one on either side. Sometimes their attempts to reunite damaged the fence. However, this process was necessary. Soon the calves fed on their own and the cows went on producing milk for the family.

Sunday I shared with my Bible study class that all my life I felt like God has been weaning me from everything else but Himself. This is not only about sin, but about anything that I depend on apart from Him. The principle behind this weaning is applied here to money:

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5–6)

In this culture, money is a god, defining “god” or idol as whatever is relied upon as a source of happiness and well-being. Many think that money will do it all, yet the Bible warns not to love it and not to make it an object of my affection.

I don’t know who said, “I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor, and I’d rather be rich,” but I have known both poverty and riches, and have discovered that the presence of God is a more important reality. He produces contentment and His presence is the greatest asset in my life. He helps me in every way so that I need not fear anything because of His promise to be with me.

It isn’t only money. As the verses above say, it is possible to fear what others can do to me. I’ve depended on their approval and acceptance, on the love of family and friends, being understood and useful, and a host of other things. When the tests come and those resources are taken away, I usually bawl like a calf and wander back and forth trying to find a way through this fence that separates me from what I want. Yet God says He is with me. He is enough. At the times of testing I may protest that being weaned is not much fun, yet Jesus is here. He does not let me down. He is with me in all situations, particularly when I obey Him in evangelism and teaching others:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19–20)

This means that if people reject the message (usually by rejecting the messenger), He is with me. Should my teaching fall on deaf ears, He is still with me. By saying these things, He suggests to me that no matter any negative human receptivity, He is enough.

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Lord, the events of these days make me realize that I live in a society that is hostile to truth and to the Gospel. They blame You for their sin, call it by other names, then tell me I am “un-Christian” for not agreeing with them. At times I feel alone and definitely on the other side of a fence. However, You are with me. While I don’t like alienation, this is nothing like what was done to You — You were rejected and abandoned — they even killed You. 

Consider (Jesus) who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Hebrews 12:3–4)

Even as I experience the rejection and hostility of others, I recognize that this is because I belong to You. Not only that, You use this for my good, to make me more like Jesus. Instead of fighting back, You want me to lean into Your loving presence and rejoice that You will never leave me or forsake me. 

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Resisting Temptation

In my efforts to lose a few pounds, decisions are necessary. I’ve heard of “mouth-hunger” vs. genuine hunger and a real need to eat. Some call “mouth-hunger” an emotional hunger. Food is comforting and tastes good. The body does not need any more, but the mouth (and emotions) crave that comfort and pleasure.

This morning, I had enough to eat and felt full, but my eyes caught the dinner rolls in the pantry. These happen to be particularly tasty and I wanted one. It was a bit of a battle to walk away, but I did, and within a few minutes the temptation was gone.

The Bible has lots to say about temptation. Its source is not what is going on outside of us (like the dinner rolls) but what is happening on the inside.

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:13–15)

Dinner rolls or anything else would have no appeal if I didn’t want something. My desires are the problem; the food I don’t need is merely the bait. Like a fish seeing a worm on a hook, I have a choice to make. If I keep making the wrong choices, I could sinfully overindulge. In the case of food, that would lead to obesity and even death.

Of course I am supposed to resist temptation. Sometimes I don’t. It seems like the desire is too strong, but how silly my wanting an extra dinner roll or a big piece of chocolate cake is compared to the sin that Jesus resisted. 

Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Hebrews 12:3–4)

Jesus first endured sin committed against Him. Human hostility toward Him was selfish and hateful (and still is). Unlike us when people hurt us, He did not retaliate. He said, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”

Second, He resisted the sin of disobeying His Father who sent Him to earth to redeem sinners. This required that He bear our penalty for sin by dying on a cross. Not only was that a terribly painful physical death, His emotional and spiritual agony can scarcely be imagined. 

In Gethsemane before it happened, Jesus prayed. He was fighting the temptation to say, “No thanks” rather than bear the guilt and awful weight of every sin ever committed by every person whoever lived. He knew what was coming, but again, He resisted.

And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:44)

As He sweat blood, Jesus said, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42) He was more willing to do as God wanted rather than take care of His own comfort and give in to the temptation to walk away and leave us to our fate.

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Jesus, I’ve read that extreme stress can cause a person to sweat blood. I try to imagine the seriousness of straining against temptation to the point of this happening. My own resistance to something as minor as overeating pales to ridiculousness compared to what You endured in Gethsemane.  What makes my struggle even sillier is that I am doing this mostly for my own good while Your resistance to sin was never about Yourself. You said ‘No’ to the temptations for our sake, for all sinners, for every person whoever lived, for me. At the very least Your sacrifice and Your steadfast resistance to sin ought to motivate greater resolve in me to do the same, not just in the pantry but in every area of my life.