Burnout Isn't the End of Your Story!Sample

I have a hard truth to share with you today. It's not easy to hear, but I care about you enough to tell you the truth.

If you could've overcome your battle with burnout and unsustainable living by yourself, you would have already. You need to ask for help! We've already talked about turning to God for help and embracing Jesus' invitation to rest, as He teaches us how to live according to "the unforced rhythms of grace," as The Message paraphrases Matthew 11.

However, later in the New Testament, James, the half-brother of Jesus, talks about the power of telling someone about your sins and failures to find healing. He wrote, "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."

Now, a confession like this is scary! You might be thinking, "Why would I want to tell someone I'm burned out or unable to solve my pace problems alone? Won't they think I'm weak? What happens if my future is in jeopardy?"

I hear your fears, and I had the same ones when I shared them with my volunteers that night about my feelings of burnout. But here's the thing. Our enemy, Satan, wants to keep us isolated. He wants us to maintain a self-reliant facade, thinking we can handle it independently. He doesn't want us to lean on other followers of Jesus, and he certainly doesn't want us to depend on God's grace.

You cannot do this on your own. You don't "got this!" If you could, why did Jesus die on the cross for your sins? Why did the writer of Ecclesiastes 8 say two are better than one? In that passage, he wrote, "But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."

When I returned from the day next to that pool, I started having honest conversations with my wife and some close friends. They encouraged me as I decided to consider how my exhaustion influenced me. They kept me from making bad decisions and helped me start new patterns, which led me to begin recovering the health I'd lost along the way. Ultimately, they encouraged me as I took a nine-month break from preaching, the longest in my twenty-year career.

It was humbling to acknowledge my burnout. I felt embarrassed that I'd made choices that took me to an unsustainable place. During that time, I heard a pastor say, "The consequences of concealment are far worse than the consequences of confession." I realized nothing would improve until I got honest with myself, God, and the people around me.

It may be hard for you to trust others. There may be legitimate fears about others knowing you cannot keep going the way you've been. But consider the verse we read on day 1. "What do you win if you gain the whole world and lose your soul?" It's not God's will for you to burn out for His kingdom. After John the Baptist was killed, Jesus pulled away to rest and grieve, one of many times Jesus drew away by Himself to rest, pray, and reconnect with His Father.

Whether you talk with your spouse, a trusted friend, a mentor, or a therapist, I encourage you to tell someone today about how you're truly doing. Confession is scary, but it also brings tremendous freedom. Secrets can suffocate us, but they lose their power to drown us in shame once they are no longer hidden.

You are not a failure for ending up in burnout; burnout isn't the end of your story. God loves you with everlasting love, and Jesus came to give you abundant life.

Tomorrow, we'll examine how you can begin to pursue healing and life on the other side of burnout. If you started this plan feeling hopeless, I want to continue to point you toward the hope Jesus offers you!