Burnout is Not God’s Plan for You

In this encouraging post I’m sharing why Burnout is Not God’s Plan for You with tips and bible verses on how to live a life more abundantly in Christ.

For today’s post, I want to talk about a subject that has weighed heavily on my heart for awhile – burnout.

More specifically, I want to talk about how Burnout is Not God’s Plan for You and Me. 

For years I personally struggled with overextending myself and my days were a never ending cycle of work, work, work.

As someone with a perfectionist and overachieving personality, working all the time and trying to do it all and be it all has pretty much always been the story of my life.

Like so many in society, I had always been instilled with the unhealthy mentality of do more, be more, and in my mind I thought it was the only way I could ever be pleasing to God.

I of course now realize that living a worldly life of endless busyness is NOT how God ever intended for me or any of his children to live, but for a short while this cycle led me to an unhealthy place of burnout and depression.

Until one day God spoke to me through the scriptures of Luke 10:38-42 when Jesus visits Martha and Mary in Martha’s home.

Jesus Visits Martha and Mary

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

I’ve read this story several times over the years and heard many sermons preached on it, but in that moment it was like I was finally understanding it clearly for the very first time.

Every other time I had read or heard about it,  I judgingly never understood how Martha could have possibly acted the way that she did.

To have Jesus the Savior of the world in her home, and instead of dropping everything and sitting at his feet to listen to him like her sister Mary did, she continued working.

Martha was so distracted with all her preparations and trying to make every little thing perfect for all of her guests, that in that moment she completely overlooked and ignored what was most important.

But this time when I read the story, I made the unfortunate realization that I had been living like Martha.

And if we’re all really being honest, there are many times we’ve all been like Martha in our day to day lives.

• We overwhelm ourselves with mile long to-do lists in an attempt to do it all and be it all for everyone around us.
• We worry ourselves with what everyone else is or isn’t doing and in today’s social media driven society we unfortunately fall victim to comparison.
• We get so caught up in being BUSY, that we completely overlook the one and only thing that’s most important in life – our relationship with Christ.

At the end of the day, Jesus doesn’t want us overwhelmed, burnout, worried, or comparing our lives to others.

Instead he invites us to have freedom and life more abundantly through him. (John 10:10)

To put him first above everything else and seek him.

What Does The Bible Say About Burnout?

Having burnout is the result of overworking yourself to the point of exhaustion and taking on too much to please others, and it’s not the way of life that God intended for us.

As children of God, we shouldn’t be worrying about pleasing everyone else through never ending tasks but instead should prioritize our relationship with Christ first.

To avoid burnout, Exodus 20:8-10 tells us to:

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.”

God doesn’t want us to do it all or to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders.

In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

He also doesn’t want us to worry ourselves about all the little things in life.

In Matthew 6:31-33 Jesus says:

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear? ‘For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Instead he wants us to put him first in our lives and to trust and have faith that he will always provide.

As 1 Chronicle 16:11 says:

“Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!”

Key Takeaways – How to Live a Life More Abundantly in Christ

So how can we live our life more abundantly in Christ?

It starts with changing our priorities.

• To not overwork ourselves by making daily and weekly rest a priority.
• To not worry about tomorrow, but to focus on being present right here and now.
• To not compare our lives to what everyone else is or isn’t doing and to stay focused on your own.
• To not spend life being too busy for what really matters and to make the time to slow down and just be with God.

Too often we put our relationship with Christ on the backburner behind work, our spouse, children, and friends, when in reality he should always come first.

When we learn to seek him first, he will always provide us with all the strength, wisdom, and all the tools we need to face the day.

It also helps us find contentment and avoid the comparison trap to others.

Lastly, another important element in learning to live a life of abundancy, is respecting and honoring the limits and boundaries he has set for each of us.

When we are constantly tired and worn down, we can’t truly put our best foot forward in being ambassadors of Christ, which is why it’s important to slow down and make rest a priority.

More Encouraging Posts You’ll Love:

I hope you found today’s post on “Burnout is Not God’s Plan for You” encouraging and helpful. Do you also sometimes struggle with feelings of burnout and being overly busy?

Can you relate to Martha in the story of Jesus visiting Martha and Mary? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for stopping by! – Cara

https://www.kindlyunspoken.com/burnout-is-not-gods-plan-for-you/