What is burnout? I guess it’s when we give out more than we take in. We’re expending more energy than we’re receiving. How does that happen? It happens when we rely on our strength to save the day. It happens when we think we’re the only ones who can do the job. It happens when we think it’s all on our shoulders. It happens when we carry the weight of the world instead of casting all our burdens onto Jesus.

There is no reason for a Christian to ever burn out.

If we could live full time in that place of rest, where there is perfect peace and joy and trust and provision, and just rest in God’s arms of love and let Him carry us, then there is no burnout.

We can be renewed in spirit continually. We are commanded to constantly be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit in us is to be a flowing fountain, a constant source of life.

We feel the burnout physically, but it starts somewhere else. It starts with stress. What is stress? It’s our response to pressure.

When you are under pressure, being squeezed is love and joy and peace what comes out? Too often it’s frustration, anger, complaining, anything but Jesus. That’s where burnout comes in.

That stress is trying to kill your body. A little stress can get you motivated and moving, but it’s not a sustainable force of productivity. It ends with a crash.

The only sustainable life is life in Christ. Although God designed our bodies to rest, we can also see a distinct lack of physical rest in the life of Christ and Paul.

What we see in Christ is a purposeful drawing near to God overnight, when we would think we need to physically rest.

Yes, Jesus got tired, so tired He could sleep in a storm on a boat. It’s not that we’re not in bodies; we are. But they can be submitted to God and we can live above them.

Our senses and feelings don’t direct our paths. God does. He’s not trying to kill you by any demand He puts on you. He’s got a great plan, so let’s commit to letting Him carry it out and carry us along the way.