Part 2. 10 Things (Series: Being Tired)

As we continue from last week,

Here are 10 more things I have also learned about being tired and burned out.

1. Have you ever heard the parable of the 10 virgins (Matthew 25:1-13)? To summarise (but I would encourage you to read it for yourselves), five of them were ready for the bridegroom, and the other five went to get more oil. As they went to get oil, the bridegroom (Jesus) came, and they missed Him because they weren’t ready. I’m reminded that I never want to be like those five. I don’t want to be caught not having enough oil burning in my lamp.

2. Have you ever thought about why we call it "burn-out"? It’s like our light is burnt up and we have no spark… that’s an interesting analogy. Once again, it’s a reminder that we never want to reach a point where we are no longer on fire for Jesus… no light burning anymore… His light within us isn’t burning anymore… That is so sad.

3. Overthinking causes us to lose our peace… if you are anything like me… overthinking is second nature, but I’m reminded of that verse in 2 Timothy (2 Timothy 1:7) that says, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” What does that mean to have self-control? I also heard it said in the manner of a ‘sound mind.’ What does that mean? It means a controlled thought process, in a sense. We must remember that we have a choice when thoughts come… we can choose to think on them or choose not to. Overthinking for many of us is a part of our daily lives, but we don’t have to make it our crutch in life any longer. Let’s remember Philippians 4:8-9.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

4. Living from the heart of rest means that we trust God with our whole being. We know that we aren’t promised tomorrow, and we should live our lives accordingly. I’m reminded of that verse in Matthew (Matthew 6:25-34) that emphasises that we need not be anxious about what we will eat, or drink, or wear. “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” We make so many plans and choices based on tomorrow and next week, but we aren’t promised them. I’m not saying that you should stop making plans or that these verses are specifically talking about the issue of making plans. But I think often times our decisions are intertwined, and we can certainly use more balance. We can remind ourselves in the daily, Lord I trust you, FIRSTLY THAT YOU ALWAYS PROVIDE (which is the focal point in these verses above). And we can also ask God ourselves in the daily, what does God have for me today? What/who/where has He called me to be today, and how can I be the best vessel I can, as I rest in Him, knowing I’m pouring into situations and people from fullness rather than the cup that is barely holding together? It reminds us to be present in the here and now rather than 10 steps ahead or reliving the past as though we could change it.

5. Some days, we can’t give! That’s the simple reality. Some days we are warned out and that's okay to take a breath. Remember that it’s not about you. God has graciously chosen to use you, but it’s ultimately not about you, so don’t let pride mess with your head and make you believe that the world can’t keep revolving without you. It can and it will. That doesn’t mean that you don’t play a crucial role in it as God chooses to use you, but the point is, He uses us. Not the other way around… we shouldn’t use Him and make ourselves God by trying to control situations while being everything for everyone all the time. Let's learn to discern when God asks something of us and when He doesn’t.

“I was driven by a deep-seated belief that my work was important, my family was necessary, and for me to steward it well— I had to do it all. I had this much right: Yes, all of it mattered deeply! But it wasn’t all on me, and I was struggling because I believed the subtle lie that it was.” (Tired of Being Tired by Jess Connolly).

6. “We idolise busyness over a sustainable pace and reward 'people' for pushing through rather than blessing our God-given boundaries” (Jess Connolly).

What I have come to realise in my personal experience, and I wouldn’t say that you should simply believe what I say and not take into account that we all experience and journey through life differently, but what I have come to see is that busyness is a way that we often cover up deep-rooted issues that we choose to avoid. We prioritise busyness so that we don’t have to ‘be still’ and deal with it. Our bodies have been conditioned for so long to ignore the tension and the symptoms such as anxiety, fatigue, over-stimulisation, and, for myself, the greatest one of these is the fear of the quiet. So, maybe it looks different for some of you, but the point is, we don’t know how to stop anymore… Our buttons have been broken, and that’s the issue: Busyness might be the cause of growing stagnant.

7. “Be where your feet are... It’s hard to be here when there are a million little things pushing us to be somewhere else” (Come Matter Here by Hannah Brencher).  This really caught my attention, and perhaps it’s similar to some of the points made above, but I think it’s good to reiterate. We, meaning firstly, ME. We get caught up in the excitement and adventures of tomorrow and goals, visions and dreams, hopes and desires, that we often mistake and forget to be present. I have heard it said many times before by my wonderful family, who reminded me of this simple truth. They would tell me before I was heading away whether it was a weekend, a week, a few months, or new exciting ventures I was exploring, they would take me aside, and say, “Jessie, where are you. You are no longer here; you have already left.” And it’s true. I know that it’s easy for me to be ten steps ahead and planning, pondering, and dreaming about something rather than reminding myself that the present is really where it all matters. Just as much as I like to fast forward and be in the future, so do I also spend a lot of time in the past. Beating myself up, overthinking conversations, making my head busy with things that have long passed and once again, leading to me missing the fulfilment of the present. I miss God. Full stop. “Presence is all we get at any given moment. We either lean into the here and now, or we miss it.” (Hannah Brencher).

8. Something that has been rolling around in my head over the past years has been this idea of the mundane. I first truly understood it by reading Christy Nockels book called ‘The Life You Long For.” If you know me, you also know that I’m a one-book kind of girl (meaning the bible). I have always aspired to read books and have started many, but rarely, in a short period of time, finish one consecutively. In this season of life, I felt the Lord strongly encourage me to read books by women who have experienced similar things. And I’ve been super blessed and encouraged to learn from them. Christy Nockel's has definitely been one of them. She emphasises this idea that God is just as present in the mundane… in the little things as He is in the big things. He is just as present and speaks to us as we are cleaning the house and doing the chores of cleaning toilets than He is when we are in a room full of people worshiping the Lord, or making music. “Leaving isn’t the key; changing is. I’m learning that life isn’t about the destinations we can boast about getting to; it’s about the walking in between that feels pointless when you try to take a picture of it because no one will understand it as you do. It’s the in-between stuff that fleshes out a story—gives it guts and transformation” (Hannah Brencher).

Living in what we call the mundane is where the real work begins and ends. It’s the places where we never thought we would see ourselves in, it’s the places where we denied ourselves and gave Jesus glory still. As we choose His will over our own. It’s the mundane where nothing is SEEN by the world… only by the One who created us… God.

9. If you have ever experienced burnout, you know that it’s very much a waiting game… and the waiting is often a space where we seek fulfilment. So let’s seek Jesus to fulfil us in the ‘being tired.’

10. I say it again because it’s so very crucial: let Jesus be enough for you. It’s one thing to believe that He is, but it’s another thing entirely to truly KNOW that He is. So let Him.

I hope that these 10 ideas also give you more of an understanding of a variety of areas concerning burnout. May you run to the feet of Jesus with it all, and I pray that He be glorified in it. He is the only reason I could even share these things because I know I have had to, and, in some cases, am still working through these things. You are not alone in it. I understand sister/brother. I can see but a glimpse, yet God truly does understand to a depth only He can.

Until next week,

With love,

Jessie

Next week, we will take a closer look at:

• What does it mean to be tired specifically? What are the telltale signs?

• And what does scripture say we should do about it?