Photo by Karolina Grabowska
Burnout happens to anyone who’s gone through too much physical or mental stress due to being overworked. It is mainly associated with work across all disciplines, but it also applies to other aspects.
We constantly strive for spiritual growth when we accept God into our lives. Encountering spiritual burnout is inevitable as we go on our spiritual journey. Sometimes, life tests our resilience to stand for God amid the storm.
But we cannot stay in that place forever. God is the one who guides us in this journey of life, and that alone is reassuring. He is our source of strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. If our walk with Him has become stagnant and hollow, we can always turn to Him for help.
Self-diagnosing your spiritual burnout
Identifying the signs is the first and most crucial step to knowing if you’re slowly tired of running the race of faith. To know if what you’re going through is spiritual burnout, here are some questions you can ask yourself:
1 – Do I still long for God?Do you still strongly desire to know Him profoundly, serve Him, and obey His commands? Am I still longing for more worldly things than the Lord Himself?
2 – Am I still obeying Him?Do I still submit to His will? Am I still obedient to His word, even if there are parts that I don’t like?
3 – Am I still a loving person?Compared to before, do I still have the capacity to love others? Am I still practicing Godly love towards my family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and especially my enemies?
4 – Am I still sensitive toward His calling?Do I still let Him lead me in my spiritual walk with Him? Do I still consult Him when I’m faced with tough decisions in life? Do I still spare some quiet time to listen to the Holy Spirit’s leading?
5 – Do I feel concerned for other people’s needs?Do I still help them to the best of my ability?
6 – Do I still take great pleasure in the church?Am I still committed to the ministry I’m in? Do I still love the church, or am I slowly loathing it?
7 – Do I forgive right away?If someone does something wrong to me, do I ignore them instantly? Or would I instead hold on to my pride?
8 – Do I still repent over my sins?Or am I already abusing God’s grace by continuously sinning despite being in a relationship with Him? Am I holding on to my impurities and dishonesty?
Restoring your faith to combat spiritual burnout
Dealing with spiritual burnout will make some question whether God has forsaken them. They might feel extreme dread at having done something wrong for God to leave them in the dust. But when you go through this, you must take action before it’s too late.
The usual and most obvious step is praying and turning to Him for help. He knows our struggles and wants to deliver us from all of them. If we humble ourselves to His throne of grace and present ourselves bare, He will hear us and fill our hearts with joy.
When we’re in the midst of a spiritual desert, consistency in our spiritual disciplines is critical to get us through the burnout. It helps to continue studying and embodying God’s word and maintain fellowship with other believers. Being with them and receiving encouragement is a beautiful way to restore the spiritual fire in us.
The best thing to do in burnout
When we feel like our spiritual growth is going nowhere, it is devastating and can be a dangerous route to permanent fallout from our relationship with God. In the life of a Christian, trials, and suffering are part of our journey into perfect love through spiritual growth. But not all of us are strong enough to make it through the finish line to meet our Lord and Savior in eternal life.
A book titled “The Other Side of Fear” by Wendy Veronica Lisare is an excellent way to know that despite the difficult times, God is there to deliver us and give us the strength we need. From being a victim of abuse and deeply traumatic events in life, Lisare overcame everything through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Sometimes, we feel encouraged and restored when we see or hear what Christ has done for others. It can be our source of comfort and strength when we face trials. The spiritual life is a long battle that we have to endure, and we may feel tired along the way; but as long as we persevere and have a productive spiritual rest, we will successfully cross through the other side of fear.
