Burnout & God's Invitation to RestSample

Work from Rest, Don’t Rest from Work

Want to know something fascinating about the human heart? It only actively pumps (or works) one-third of the time. The other two-thirds, it rests. During rest, the heart refills with blood and prepares for the next contraction. In other words, the heart rests to prepare for the next work it has to do.

God designed this function of our hearts. We should take some notes!

Remember Ruth Haley Barton’s description of good tired from day 1? We put in a good day’s work, then we recover. We go back to work rested and ready. We work from a place of rest; we don’t rest from work. It’s a subtle change to think of it this way, but when we do, suddenly, we’re less likely to push through work until we crash. And we don’t work again until we’re rested.

We hope you feel emboldened to radically embrace God’s design for humans to rest (a lot). We hope that moving forward, you’ll be able to recognize when you’ve slipped from “good tired” to “dangerously tired.” Revisit day 1, and memorize those symptoms. Note additional ones that are helpful for you. As a first practical step to resting in God, protect some time (daily or weekly) to sit with him. Review the commitments you have, and make better “yeses” by pulling back from things that aren’t good for you right now. Recognize that burnout is a symptom of needing to lean more fully into the identity Christ has won for us, and trust God to walk with you as you do that.

And finally, don’t stress yourself out about rest. Really. It’s gonna be a long journey, and that’s normal. Even a year of healthier rest rhythms won’t instantly undo the past 15 years of unhealthy rhythms.

Jesus, here I am. It’s over-extended, tired, burned-out me. And I need deep, restorative rest. This journey of learning to pause and trust you more, like everything else, is something you’ll take the lead on. As I take steps forward, I need your Spirit to guide me, and to help me make wise decisions. Bless me with friends to walk alongside me. Give me support from loved ones as I set healthier boundaries to protect time for rest. I love you, Jesus. Thank you for offering me rest. Thank you for helping me accept that offer, too.

Want more tangible ideas for practicing Rest? Check out all of our suggested practices here.

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