When We Feel Burned Out
Matthew 11:25-30
We have all experienced physical “burnout” – those times when we are tired from our many activities or difficulties that assail us. Even more painful is spiritual burnout, when a Christian is weary from the pressure of trying to obey God, attend church faithfully, overcome temptation, and spend time in daily prayer and Bible reading. Just contemplating everything we think we must do to be successful in the Christian life can be overwhelming! The trouble is that we become spiritually burned out if we rely on our own strength.
When we experience spiritual fatigue, it is often because we have a wrong view of our faith. We find ourselves keeping a mental checklist of dos and don’ts, striving to please God with our religious activities. That is not freedom. The Christian life isn’t a formula whereby we modify our behavior to gain God’s approval. Jesus reached down and reconciled us to Himself at the moment we asked Him into our hearts, so we already have God’s approval. True spiritual maturity involves our growing awareness that nothing we can do – no change in behavior or attempt to live up to regulations – will make us acceptable. Instead, we trade our weakness and inability to live by faith for God’s omnipotent power to carry us through life.
Think of God’s power like a river coursing through hilly terrain. We can hike, puffing and sweating, along the footpath, or we can just ease into the water. We won’t have to expend any more energy because the power of the current will carry us all the way to our destination.
Daily Devotions with Dr. Charles Stanlley, InTouch Ministries