‘The ultimate answer to our exhaustion is coming to God and receiving his rest,’ says Danielle Finch.
According to Mental Health UK, 91% of UK adults experienced high or extreme levels of pressure or stress in the last year. With Christmas fast approaching and the added pressure that brings, I thought I’d share some lessons I have learned through dealing with chronic health issues.
So what exactly is burnout? Burnout is a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion which can occur when you experience long-term stress and feel under constant pressure. (Mental Health UK). The causes can be varied, such as pressures at work, family relationships and chronic ill health. This might sound familiar to many of you. I know personally that I’ve reached that point before. It can feel as though you are wading through treacle attempting to achieve or even think about the simplest of tasks.
It can feel as though you are wading through treacle attempting to achieve or even think about the simplest of tasks.
Yet I can’t help but feel that God desires more for us than burnout. In John 10:10, Jesus tells us, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
What hope there is for us who believe! Too often I have felt that the enemy has been attempting to steal my joy and peace. But God promises us so much more. Not only in eternity, but right here and now.
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The ultimate answer to our exhaustion, is coming to God and receiving his rest. (Matthew 11:28) When we prioritise spending time with Him, other things have a habit of seeming far more manageable and far less overwhelming.
God, in his wisdom, has also given us the ability to implement strategies ourselves to help us avoid this pattern of burnout that we often find ourselves in. I’d briefly like to share a few of the strategies I have learned to help manage my own energy levels and I hope they will be of help to you too.
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1. Establishing our priorities - Our first priority should always be God. But what else is important to you? This will look different for each of us. It might be time with family or friends, serving in a particular ministry, making time for exercise. Once we’ve established our priorities, it becomes far easier to decide how to use our time and energy wisely.
2. Setting healthy boundaries - As Christians, this can be particularly hard to do. It is hardwired into most of us to serve. Our ‘works’ are an outworking of our faith. Yet sometimes it is really important to examine our motives when agreeing to ministry opportunities and other activities. Are we being led by the Lord in what we do? As a chronic people pleaser, I know it can be very easy to say ‘yes’ for all the wrong reasons.
3. Pacing - The pace of modern life can feel all-consuming and relentless. The truth is, we all have a finite amount of energy. The idea behind ‘pacing’ is that you analyse the activities you are currently doing, and try to organise them in a way that achieves a better balance by interspersing the energy intensive activities with those that are relaxing or revitalising for you.
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So how might we implement these strategies this Christmas? Could choosing to prioritise celebrating the Lord’s birth and spending time with our families mean that some of those optional activities could be taken off the ‘to-do’ list? Could we prayerfully listen to how God wants us to serve this Christmas, rather than signing up for every event? It may be that rather than spending an entire weekend hunting for presents, we do a bit each week followed by something we really enjoy such as meeting up with a friend for a coffee.
You see, I truly believe that God desires for each of us to have life in abundance. Of course, he has given each of us work to do, whatever that may look like. And some seasons of life are just plain difficult. But He doesn’t want our hearts to be troubled. (John 14:1). Instead, let us pray and let the Lord guide us and fill us with his peace this Christmas.
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