The Burnout Bible: How to tackle fatigue and emotional overwhelm naturally

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So by all means, deal with any sinful attitudes before trying to solve the issue of burnout. Self-pity never helps us or equips us when we have work to do, and it will not be our aid in dealing with this. But once we have set aside any sin by confessing it to God, let’s turn to consider the burnout itself. How did we get here in the first place? Know When to Say “No” Insight practice, on the other hand, allows one to (1) attend more fully to the present moment and (2) hold the present moment compassionately. “Compassion is the ability to feel the suffering of another being along with the wish to lessen or eliminate that suffering” (McCollum 2015, p. 50). This sense arises as one gains insight into the fact that all beings are connected and thus one individual’s suffering is everyone’s suffering. This duality of compassion—connection with all humanity and being present in one’s experience—challenges therapists, counselors, and pastors to know their personal suffering. Part of the present moment is the counselor’s suffering in addition to their being present with the client in suffering.

Consider the work of counseling. We should all be able to help with basic Bible knowledge to encourage one another. But if more is needed, there is nothing wrong with finding someone else who is more equipped to step in to help. Not every situation is an emergency. You may have to keep your conversation short. Or if you are too burdened to help anymore, you might pray for God’s replacement. A fresh replacement might be far more effective than you are. Remember, we are not irreplaceable. Don’t Break Promises Segal et al. ( 2013) outline multiple mindfulness-based strategies in their text Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression. One of these strategies, referred to as the raisin exercise, provides an experiential problem-solving base through the experience of eating a raisin. In this exercise, each participant is given a raisin and is guided through a new way to experience eating the raisin. First, participants are asked to see the raisin as an object they have never seen before by exploring the texture of the raisin, examining the folds of the raisin, and smelling the raisin. Participants are then guided through slowly taking the raisin to their mouths and are asked to explore the sensations of the raisin in their mouths, such as its consistency and shape, prior to chewing the raisin. Next, participants are asked to slowly chew the raisin and to pay attention to changes in the consistency of the raisin. Participants are then encouraged to detect their readiness or intention to swallow the raisin, paying special attention to the process of swallowing, the aftertaste, and the absence of the raisin their mouths. This exercise is designed to take participants off automatic pilot mode, which occurs when the body is doing one thing and the mind is done something else (Segal et al. 2013). Burnout and compassion fatigue are common experiences among pastors and ministers. For example, Evers and Tomic ( 2003) discovered that Dutch Reformed pastors had higher levels of emotional exhaustion compared to the social services comparison group but that the levels of depersonalization and lowered personal accomplishment were lower than in the comparison group. Further, Spencer et al. ( 2012) surveyed 285 evangelical pastors. They identified vision conflict—discrepancies between the pastor’s and the congregation’s ministry expectations—and compassion fatigue as the two critical components in the process of pastors exiting the ministry. Beebe ( 2007) illuminated the connections between a pastor’s inability to differentiate between the self and pastoral roles and burnout, and others have identified the correlations between congregants’ intrusiveness and burnout and stress (Han and Lee 2004; Lee 2010). This provides evidence that pastors and ministers are at risk due to the human service aspects of carrying out the vocation of professional Christian ministry.

Shanafelt, T., Hasan, O., Dyrbye, L., Sinsky, C., Satele, D., Sloan, J., & West, C. (2015). Changes in burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance in physicians and the general US working population between 2011 and 2014. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 90(12), 1600–1613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2015.08.023. When we are tired, we can be tempted to think we didn’t get much accomplished. We may feel discouraged or trapped and worry that there is no one to help us or take over for us. We may think our work is all in vain because we’re going to have to do it all over again tomorrow. Or we might be disappointed because we didn’t finish everything on our list. And then there’s that friend who is vacationing in Hawaii. How does she get off so easily? Reid, R. J., Coleman, K., Johnson, E., Fishman, P., Hsu, C., Soman, M., & … Larson, E. (2010). The group health medical home at year two: Cost savings, higher patient satisfaction, and less burnout for providers. Health Affairs, 29(5), 835–843. https://doi.org/10.1377/hithaff.2010.0158. If you’ve ever worked out on a resistance machine, you’ll know the feeling of doingfinefor a number of repeatsbeforethe weights seemto be gettingheavier and heavier,untilsuddenlyyoucan’tcarryon.

The components of burnout have been associated with nursing job satisfaction, intent to turnover, absenteeism, low morale, deterioration of the quality of care provided, and nurse-reported quality of care variables (Maslach et al. 1996; Van Bogaert et al. 2013). Individuals experiencing burnout may also experience physical and psychological conditions such as depression, diabetes, hypertension, and irritable bowel syndrome (de Beer et al. 2016). According to Shanafelt et al. ( 2015), more than half of the physicians practicing in the United Stated are experiencing professional burnout. From the patient’s perspective, physicians experiencing burnout are less productive, more likely to make medical errors, and less likely to motivate patients to comply with the recommended medical treatments (Dewa et al. 2014; Schuman 2016). As such, physicians experiencing burnout are at an increased risk for malpractice and often earn low patient satisfaction scores (Dewa et al. 2014; Schuman 2016). If you are committed to building the church by winning people to Christ and helping them to grow in Christ, God delights in what you are doing. You’re doing what Jesus said He will do, namely, “I will build My church.” What could be more important than to commit yourself to doing what Jesus Christ is doing? (2) God’s work is a worldwide work that will prevail. Moses would have burned out, but for the wise counsel of his father-in-law, Jethro. The story is found in Exodus 18:14-23. Moses thought he was doing the will of God by sitting as judge and hearing the people’s cases. However, Jethro rightly recognized that this was not a job for one man to handle alone. Eventually, Moses would burn out, and the people would be left unsatisfied. To avoid burnout, Moses had to accept that not every need was meant to be filled by him. God charged Moses with leadership, not with performing every duty. Jethro advised Moses to delegate the task of judging the nation to other trustworthy men. That way, the people were provided justice, others had an opportunity to participate in God’s plan, and Moses’ need for personal care was met. How can we know when to say no to opportunities to serve the Lord? What principles help us to draw the line? Han, J., & Lee, C. (2004). Ministry demand and stress among Korean American pastors: A brief report. Pastoral Psychology, 52, 473–478.That church was small and had never supported a full time pastor before, and so there was the added concern of whether or not the finances would be there week to week to meet our needs. And so with some anxiety and an overwhelming sense of personal inadequacy, I said, “Lord, I’ll try this for three years and then we’ll see where we’re at!” The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him.’ Charles Simeon ( Expository Outlines on the Whole Bible [Zondervan], 10:460) said it well, “We see how dependent a little infant is on its mother; and such must we be in the arms of God. We must undertake nothing in our own strength: in no circumstances whatever may we lean to our own understanding: whatever is devised, or whatever is done, the creature must be nothing; but God must be all in all.” Zerubabbel must have been thinking, “This project will never get done!” The work had begun over 20 years before. It would still take another four years. But God assures Zerubbabel (4:9) that his hands, which had laid the foundation of the temple, would finish it. Eventually, it was completed.

Smith, S. (2014). Mindfulness-based stress reduction: An intervention to enhance the effectiveness of nurses’ coping with work-related stress. International Journal of Nursing Knowledge, 25(2), 119–130. https://doi.org/10.1111/2047-3095.12025. The other way to work for God is “‘by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts” (4:6). This does not imply that there is no toil and sweat when you labor in the power of the Holy Spirit. Zerubbabel and his men still had to clear away the same mountain of rubble and lay the same heavy stones. But when God’s Spirit motivates and energizes the work, there is conscious dependence on Him, and He gets the glory. Research confirms that chronic stress can cause physical illness too. Sheldon Cohen, a professor of psychology at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University says, “We are just beginning to understand the ways that stress influences a wide range of diseases of aging, including heart disease, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and certain types of disability, even early death.” The point is, you will always encounter a mountain of problems when you seek to build God’s temple. Commenting on this point, Dr. James Boice said, “As I counsel with people in our day, many of them young people, I am convinced that one of their biggest problems is that they expect shortcuts” ( The Minor Prophets [Baker], 2:510). He goes on to say that people want some simple principle to understand all the Bible apart from diligent study. They want some experience that will transport them effortlessly to a higher spiritual plateau, without daily discipline. They want a nearly perfect church, without the hassle of working through difficulties. But that is not the way God gets His work done. (2) God’s work seems incredibly slow in its progress. What about mercy ministry? The Good Samaritan didn’t exactly have the guy in the ditch written in his daily planner. Of course, we must be prepared to act instantly when confronted with drastic needs. But sometimes we go out beating the bushes, and there might be a person more equipped than you are to help. If you are busy administering first aid when there is a nurse standing behind you, then by all means, defer to her. Let her take over.Jesus also told His disciples to come with Him and rest. This is a wonderful image of God’s compassionate care and mercy for His followers. Mark 6:31 says, “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’” Going to a quiet place with Jesus to rest is the best place to be restored and grow in strength. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty” ( Psalm 91:1). Those who wait, trust and hope in the Lord will renew their strength ( Isaiah 40:31). Knowing Our Mission and Purpose Elijah walked a whole day into the wilderness. He stopped and sat down in the shade of a tree and wished he would die.‘It's too much, Lord,’he prayed.‘Take away my life; I might as well be dead!’He lay down under the tree and fell asleep. In this vision, the angel had to awaken Zechariah from a sleep-like condition and then direct him to the vision by asking what he saw (4:1-2). Later, Zechariah has to ask twice regarding the meaning of the two olive trees (4:11-12). The trees provided a continual flow of golden oil to the lamps so that they did not burn out. All of these features are designed to show us that we must depend on God alone and that we must do so continually.