Preventing Burnout
“Our spiritual life is His affair. It is really produced by His steady attraction, and our humble and self-forgetful response to it. It consists of being drawn, at His pace and in His way, to the place where He wants us to be, not the place we fancied for ourselves. For a spiritual life is simply a life in which all that we do comes from the center, where we are anchored in God; a life soaked through and through by a sense of His reality and His claim.” Evelyn Underhill
In honor of Pastor Appreciation Month and all our friends in ministry, we offer this from Soul Shepherding:
Most people think over-working is the cause of burnout, but that is normally not the case. A hidden cause of burnout is becoming emotionally distant from God. Everyone has times of not feeling God’s presence, but for some, it’s more than a passing emotion or spiritual season: One pastor said he was burned out on ministry. As he put it, "I am tired in my soul . . . and a nap won’t fix it."
Why do we burn out? Preaching sermons? Being on call 24-hours a day? Extending compassion to people in crisis? Leading a ministry? Being a public personality with a large reach? These things do take a toll.
But the real culprit to burnout is when working for God crowds out personal intimacy with God. That's what many people experience. We know better, but in the press of ministry our devotional life and soul care slowly erode.
It’s an easy mistake for any of us to make. That’s because your ministry is urgently needed by the people around you. That's especially true for pastors and missionaries, but however you serve God, the people around you need your loving presence, practical help, and encouragement. "Love your neighbor," Jesus commands (Mark 12:30). How do we say no to that?
Actually, we need to regularly say no to the urgent demands of our ministry and work in order to say yes to enjoying "the Father and Son intimacies and knowledge" (Matthew 11:28, MSG). Jesus’ teaching is to "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:30).
True self-love is like soaking your soul in God’s beauty and lovingkindness. When you’re finding soul satisfaction in Christ you’re not likely to burn out!
The best time to re-soul is before you burn out or go flat (2 Samuel 16:14).
Here are five little, but surprisingly powerful ways to renew your intimacy with God (because it’s the daily soul care activities that keep us fresh):
1. Share your real emotions and struggles with someone you trust to give you empathy.
2. Get outside to run, hike, walk, or sit and breathe in the beauty.
3. Make a healthy meal and savor it.
4. Sleep or lay in bed for eight hours.
5. Practice silence and solitude.
Probably you’re wondering, How are those activities intimacy with God? It’s in how you do them.
Let’s go back through the list:
1. In your soul talk, look to the presence of Christ in your friend.
2. In the beauty of nature, pray a favorite Scripture.
3. While you eat, give thanks to God.
4. On your bed, be like the Jesus Farmer and entrust all your work to God (Mark 4:26-29).
5. Consider attending EXHALE's Guided Day of Silence. REGISTER link below :-).