Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: RSS
PEACE OF MIND – 7 – Beat Your Burnout
Welcome everyone to Redemption Church! We are so glad to have you here with us in Plano Tx.
Blessings to everyone joining us online.
Peace of Mind
We are in the final week of our Peace of Mind series. Over the last 6 weeks we have been talking about the mental health issues that have been robbing us of peace and destroying our bodies.
Today I want to talk about the table.
The question was asked… “Why’s the table broken?” And we need to answer that question today.
How is your table today?
Do you feel loaded down? Life seems to stack up?
Is life heavy and difficult?
Do you feel like you are constantly on edge.
You know you can’t take much more, yet you always do take on more and more.
This is where you are headed. You are about to break.
Today we are talking about “beating your burnout.”
Beating Your Burnout
The worry you feel today… God has better for you.
The exhaustion you feel today… God has better for you.
The constant grind and drain you live everyday… God has better for you.
A 2021 survey of US workers found that
More than half of workers feel burned out as a result of their job demands.
The study only took jobs into consideration.
What might the number look like if we also added marriage, parenting, finances, health, etc.
Our world is full of people who are overwhelmed with stress and on the edge of burnout.
What exactly is Burnout?
Burnout is our inability to balance the demands we put upon ourself.
What are the demands you are putting upon yourself?
Social demands – the expectations of others and social media image. Being there for others. Making all the events you are invited to attend.
Financial pressure – providing what we need and feeling like you are falling behind. Wanting to provide can be exhausting.
Family expectation – Activity with kids and aging parents. I want to be the best parent, spouse, and dutiful child.
Spiritual guilt – I am not enough for God. I do not measure up. I don’t serve enough. I don’t give enough.
Burnout is not just 1 thing. It is a combination of ALL THE THINGS.
Burnout is not just working long hours…
Burnout is not just a full schedule…
Burnout is not just the pressure to be the best all the time…
Burnout is a combination of Mental, Emotional, and Physical exhaustion from multiple sources.
If you are battling and struggling with the stress and pressures that are pushing you daily toward burnout, you are not alone. I want us to overcome the stigma of “not being ok.” I want us to overcome the shame of not being able to do one more thing… the shame of not being enough for all the demands.
Stress and Burnout
-Stress is generally short-lived and related to a temporary project or event.
The school assignment or test, the work presentation, that problem with the car or house, the new job, the move… these are stressors that are temporary. They have due dates and end dates usually.
-Burnout is chronic stress that feels never-ending.
Burnout is continual stress with no relief.
It can bring you to a place where you no longer care, have no passion left, feel dead inside, and lose all hope.
Today I want to talk about a character in your Bible who battled chronic stress and hit the wall of burnout.
The Prophet Elijah
Elijah was an Old Testament prophet who faced continual problems, stress, anxiety, depression, mental-emotional-physical exhaustion, and ultimately Burnout.
Elijah faced all of these mental health issues… and was still close to God.
I want to remind you that your struggle does not make you a bad Christian… it makes you human.
If you ever needed to find an example in your Bible of someone who was powerful in God, full of faith, did miracles, was fearless and victorious… Elijah would be a great choice.
Elijah boldly confronts a king about his evil sin
Elijah prophesied a 3-year drought. Elijah with his own voice released rain 3 years later.
Elijah was hunted by the king and moved like a ninja. He was impossible to track.
Elijah stood down 850 false prophets and called down fire from heaven.
Elijah heard the voice of God and saw and did many miracles.
Elijah experienced nonstop protection, provision, presence, and power of God, but then a single woman threatens him and Elijah has a breakdown. King Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, sends a note to Elijah that says “I am going to kill to kill you by this time tomorrow.” (1 Kings 19:20)
Given all of his success, victories, and achievement, it is unexpected that one little message could cause a mighty man of God to crumble… but it did.
Was Jezebel that scary? Or was it that one more stress, one more demand, one more worry finally broke Elijah.
Some of you have experienced this.
You have gone through a problem, but you handled it..
You had an issue, but you fixed it..
You went through a rough time, but you endured it..
And then one day a problem comes that is not bigger than any of the other problems… and at that moment you break.
You start to cry and you are shocked that you are crying. You think to yourself, “what is wrong with me? I should be able to handle this.”
But you have exhausted yourself emotionally, physically, and spiritually and now you are burnt out.
Have you been here? This is where Elijah is.
1 Kings 19:3-5 (NIV) 3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep…
The Stress of Burnout
Physical
-You are easily fatigued and low energy.
-You find it difficult sleep until you just can’t stay away and collapse.
-Headaches, body aches & muscle pain.
-The Pain causes you to cope – unhealthy habits – Abuse alcohol, prescription pain meds, illegal drugs, comfort eating.
Mental
Ongoing stress impacts the brain.
- Enlarges amygdala, the small almond shaped part of your brain that alarms us to danger. The Amygdala is the fight or flight part of our brain.
This ongoing stress makes us more susceptible to fear, so that things that are normally manageable become unmanageable.
- It weakens pre-frontal cortex. This is the part of the brain that helps us make decisions. The ongoing stress makes you indecisive, gives you inability to focus, and can lead to memory loss.
Emotional
This ongoing stress leaves you unmotivated with a a lack of self confidence. Because your emotions are out of check you have a chronic feeling of self-doubt.
When you start thinking that you are a failure, alone, worthless… these are signs that your ongoing stress is effecting your emotions.
This starts the negative filtering mind loop and you start to blame yourself, others, and even God.
Are you here? Are you on the way here?
How do we get here? By making the same 3 mistakes that the prophet Elijah made.
3 Mistakes
- We run ourselves into the ground.
We go and we go and we go. We are always on to the next project. We don’t even celebrate a job well done, we are too busy and never rest.
1 Kings 19:3-4 (NIV) 3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness.
Out of fear, Elijah ran. How far do you think he ran?
He ran from Jezreel, the northern part of Israel Run, to Beersheba in the southern part of Israel. He ran 106 miles. He ran over 3 marathons.
Elijah ran himself into the ground.
3 Mistakes
- We run ourselves into the ground.
You know what this is like.
We try to do it all and we never stop.
- We do it all on our own.
We don’t talk about our problems, we carry them ourself.
We isolate when times are hard, instead of leaning into community.
We do not ask for help.
Elijah makes a mistake here in verse 3.
1 Kings 19:3-5 (NIV) 3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
He left his servant there… Elijah had help, but he left them behind. Support was available, but Elijah isolated.
Some of you are all alone!
Some of you watching online are not connected to a Christian community.
Some of you are not a part of connect group.
Some of you are too embarrassed and to proud to ask for help.
The life of a Christian is not meant to be in isolation. We are to support one another, mourn and rejoice together. We are to be like iron sharpening iron.
The Kingdom of God is not just attending a service or watching a video online. God’s Kingdom is interactive!
We make the same mistakes.
#1 We run ourselves into the ground.
#2 We do it all on our own.
- We dwell on the negative.
Elijah had many victories he could have focused upon.
Elijah had many testimonies he could have retold.
Elijah could have declared what God had done and by faith declare God is going to do it again.
But no. This is what Elijah does.
1 Kings 19:4 (NIV) “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
“Take my life.” I might as well die. I can’t go on. I give up.
“I am no better than my ancestors.” He compares himself to others. That is a destructive and dangerous thing to do that always makes you feel like a failure.
Stop comparing yourself to everyone else.
Because Elijah was not healthy in his mental, physical, and spiritual, he was in a dark place.
BUT in Elijah’s darkest moment, God came to him. God comes to us in dark moments.
1 Kings 19:5 (NIV) All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”
Elijah had run himself into the ground, isolated himself, and was negative… yet God still came to him.
What is the message the angel gives Elijah… Does the angel call him…
Loser…
Scaredy cat…
Stupid…
Failure…
You don’t have enough faith… that is why you are here.
You must have a sin problem… that is why you are here.
You need to pray more… that is why you are here.
The Angel said, “Get up and eat.”
Don’t tell me God does not care about the physical and the practical.
1 Kings 19:6 (NIV) 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
God provided the provision that Elijah needed.
God tells him to get up and eat. Elijah does.
Then Elijah goes back to sleep.
Sometimes what we need is that simple.
Sometimes you do need to just get up…
Sometimes you do just need a good meal…
Sometimes you do need a nap…
Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is rest.
I can’t stop… I have too much to do.
The work I am doing is much too important to even take a break.
I remember a time I had stacked too much on my table. I had one of those moments where I broke. I was surprised and I found myself by my car weeping after a Sunday night Bible study. The final brick that broke my glass table was not really a big deal. A person I had been working with to lead music had struggled that night… I was probably really the only one who noticed, but I felt devastated. I felt like a failure.
My friend and pastor Kevin came out to the car and said. Do you need to take Sunday off? I responded with a scoff… “I can’t take Sunday off. Sunday is too important.”
Kevin said, “Sunday is important, but so is every Sunday that follows this Sunday. Chris, you have a lifelong ministry ahead of you, and if I need to sacrifice this Sunday so that you are still doing ministry 20 years from now, it is an easy choice. You are more important than this Sunday.”
I did not take off that Sunday. Truthfully, I don’t take off enough Sundays still, but that conversation helped me. His words affirmed me. I realized I was burning out.
Am I talking to anyone who needs a day off from ministry? The work we do is important, but you are also important. You have a lifelong amount of ministry inside of you and I want to see fulfill it in strength, joy, and peace!
God on the 7th day rested. It is called Sabbath rest. It is one of the 10 commandments. That is how serious God is about rest. Perhaps we are not serious enough about rest.
God wants you to rest in your physical, mental, and even spiritual. You need rest and peace.
1 Kings 19:7-8 (NIV) 7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 times in this dark time, Elijah slept.
2 times in this dark time, Elijah got up and ate.
And Elijah was strengthened by that food and traveled 40 days and nights.
You have a journey ahead of you.
You have work you need to do.
But you need strength to make it.
Elijah travels to Mt Horeb and has an experience with God. God speaks with Elijah in a still small voice… in a whisper. God corrects Elijah’s negative thoughts…
Elijah almost never made it to this moment because of his burn out.
Later Elijah restores rain and blessing to Israel. He out races king Ahab’s chariot down the mountain.
Elijah almost never made it to this moment, because of his mental health issues.
Elijah meets a young man named Elisha. Elijah mentors Elisha and it secures a future generation so that they would hear the word of the Lord. Elisha goes on to do double the miracles of Elijah.
Elisha almost never got to meet Elijah. What a great loss that would have been.
We started this message with a video of a child stacking bricks on a glass table until it finally broke.
What amazes me most about that clip is that everyone seems surprised that the table broke.
The child says “Oh no… our table… its broken.”
Another child walks up and asks… “Why’s the table broken?”
Do not wait until you break. Change your life today.
Get healing for your mental, physical, and spiritual.
Come rest.