Burning Out? There is Hope Beyond Affliction
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” (Lam 3:21-24)
Could Elijah have been suffering from burn out? He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die (1Kings 19). Burn out is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. For anyone suffering from or on the way to burn out, be encouraged: There is hope beyond affliction; Jeremiah reminds us of God’s great love, his never-failing compassions and great faithfulness. You can be renewed, restored, reinstated, and refocused – no longer confused.
You may be on the road to burn out if every day is a bad day, or caring about your work or home life seems like a total waste of energy. Do you feel exhausted all the time, or is the majority of your day spent on tasks you find totally uninteresting or overwhelming? Or if you feel like nothing you do makes a difference or is appreciated, you could be on the road to burn out. The road has four stages: When starting out on a new assignment, or when you have just gotten born again, or when starting some voluntary assignments, the first weeks or months are full of excitement and can be called honeymoon phase; there is much love for the new found status. With time someone begins experiencing occasional stressful moments, loss of focus and less productivity; physical fatigue can also set in, and this phase is called onset of stress.
When not helped, the next stage will be chronic stress, where stress becomes more persistent, increasing procrastination and feelings of anger and apathy. Then follows the burn out phase – one reaches the limit and can no longer function normally; problems at work begin to consume you, and at times you may also feel numb and experience extreme self-doubt, leading to chronic headaches or stomach issues. Perhaps Elijah was right at this point when he said “I have had enough, LORD, take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” (1Kings 19:4) There is hope even at this point. God intervened by providing a meal and instructions to Elijah – he still had work to do and God guaranteed his safety and security.
In order to recover from burn out, it is important to slow down, calm down, deal with noise, recognize the problem, rediscover your purpose, recharge, refresh – call upon the Holy Spirit who guides us into all the truth. It is also alright to seek support from other people, friends, or professionals. Take care of your body: eat well, exercise enough, and practice a hobby. Remember God’s great love, his never-failing compassions and great faithfulness, and wait for Him. Believe it – you can recover. There is hope even beyond serious affliction.