woman leaning on table

After writing a book this past year I haven’t wanted any part in writing for my blog. I have come to realize that I may be just burned out on writing and I need a little pick me up to get my creative juices flowing again. So today I want to talk about burnout. What does it look like and what should you do when you get it?

Many people say that writer’s block is normal. But I don’t think that is what is going on with my situation. I have no desire or want to write. It is just as if someone flipped a switch and turned off that part of my brain. When God told me to start a blog I was so excited that He wanted to use me to reach people by sharing my stories and wisdom from the Bible. I couldn’t wait to start writing!

Can any of you relate? God has asked you to do something and you were excited at first, but then time passed and that excitement faded.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like feeling this way. I want to be excited and have enthusiasm working for the Lord. But somewhere along the line I lost sight of why I was writing for Him. It became more like a chore on my to do list.

I knew things needed to change. I didn’t want to become another statistic – one more person to give up on God’s ministry. 

I considered why I was feeling this way.

  • Was I trying to prove my worth to God?
  • Would achieving some success bring fulfillment?
  • What if I didn’t have to push myself so hard that I burned out just to make God happy?
  • What if I stopped trying to earn God’s love as an employee and started embracing His love as His child?
  • What if I was tired and overwhelmed with the ministry God was entrusting me with?

God wants to teach us that it doesn’t have to get to this point. We don’t have to feel exhausted and weary. We can embrace God’s invitation to come near Him, bringing our worries to Him, so we can find rest in Him.

“Come to me , all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28 NIV).

Jesus drew away many times by Himself to rest, pray, and reconnect with His Father. We can learn from Jesus and do the same when we start to feel overwhelmed. 

Many times my husband would tell me to step away from my writing because he knew that it was consuming me. But I pushed myself to continue, wanting to get it done. Why? God wasn’t giving me a deadline. He didn’t care if it took me a month to get a blog post written. He didn’t care if it took me a year to write the book. He just wants us to do what Jesus did – rest, pray, and reconnect with Him.

So what did I do?

I took some time off from the blog when I was writing the book. When I finished writing the book I continued to take time away from the blog. During those months I did a lot of praying. I asked the Lord for encouragement and I realized that you don’t earn God’s love through your performance. God loves you no matter what you do. His love never changes. His love is never-ending. There is nothing you can do to separate yourself from Him.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” ( Romans 8:38-39 NIV).

When I was ready I asked Him to help me know what topic to write for my next blog post. He didn’t answer right away. While I waited for Him to answer I had to rest knowing everything was in His hands. He was in control and if He wanted me to write a blog post 2 months ago, He would have told me. But He didn’t. He waited.

Until today.

Today was the day that God gave me His answer. He gave me the topic and helped me to write this post. Sometimes we just need to take a step back and rest. Give our worries to God and rest. Tell Him we are overwhelmed and ask Him to give us His peace. When He is ready, you will be ready. I wasn’t ready to write 2 months ago, but God said it was ok. He would show me when it was time. God doesn’t want us frazzled and overworked. He doesn’t want us to work for His love and acceptance. He already loves and accepts us just as we are.

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KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER WHEN YOU FEEL BURNED OUT

  1. Remember how much God loves you.
  2. Admit that you are burned out and ask God to heal and renew you.
  3. Share your story with others. Chances are there are others out there that need to hear that they are not the only ones going through it.
  4. This is not the end of your story! Ken Pettis once said, “Remember God’s not in your story. You are in His.”
  5. Take breaks. Some people, like me, don’t know when to stop working. Sometimes it takes someone to suggest taking a break for them to realize they probably should.
  6. Spend time with the Lord. Ask for encouragement and learn about His love. It can make a world of difference when you are overwhelmed.
  7. Get out and spend some time with friends and family. I am sure they would love to see you!
  8. Sit down with your spouse and discuss your work load. Maybe you are taking on too much and your spouse can help you out with some of the chores or things that need to be done. 
  9. Learn to say “NO”. You don’t have to be the one doing everything. The world will go on with or without you. People will get over it. Most of the time when you are honest and say that you are too busy, people will understand.
  10. Get plenty of sleep.

CONCLUSION

The main key point I want you to take away from this blog post is that the “cure” for burnout is closeness with God. When you start to feel overwhelmed that is your “cue” to go to Him and pray. Draw near to Him. Spend some time reading His word. Rest in Him and reconnect with Him. He longs to hear from you and He wants to spend time with you. Doing so, will not only recharge your soul, but will also bring you a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7).

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