Have you ever wanted to actually die? With today’s high-pressure way of living, it is easy to run out of energy. You may call it discouragement, depression, or burnout, or as Charles Spurgeon termed it, a “fainting fit,” but this condition is a warning light that something is malfunctioning in your life. Burnout is mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion resulting from a life that is out of balance.
Even when a car tire becomes unbalanced, the tread wears unevenly and the tire deteriorates more quickly. When urgent things, like emails and meetings, or distracting things like entertainment and social media, keep you from that which is all-important, the Word of God and prayer, from your family and work, discouragement can ensue. We all need wisdom to make proper decisions to steer our life or we will quickly wear away. Burnout victims experience irritability, disillusionment, cynicism, and finally depletion of energy. You may burn a candle on both ends producing twice as much light, but in the long run, you are not as bright as you think you are. That candle will burn out twice as fast!
The theme of depression and how it should be treated is a very common condition in life and in key Bible characters. For example, the sweet Psalmist David talks to himself and asks, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” (Psalm 42:5,11) The “weeping Prophet” Jeremiah wanted to quit as he lamented to his God, “O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every on mocketh me.” (Jeremiah 20:7) Moses became depressed and prayed to die, crying to the Lord, “I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if Thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray Thee, out of hand, if I have found favor in Thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.” (Numbers 11:14, 15). D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in his excellent book, Spiritual Depression, gives many reasons for this condition along with its cures. He writes that sin, vain regrets, a weakness of faith, false teaching, and growing weary in well doing are reasons for depression. We will never live each day to its full and pass on important values to those around us if we allow burnout to beat us.
Moses, Jeremiah, and David remind us of victory and courage, yet these great men suffered periods of hopelessness. This malady attacks accomplished men and women who are motivated to do eternally important things. Industrious people with their schedules booked with activity can also be hit with burnout. Moses was overwhelmed with the burden of caring for an entire nation. Jeremiah was overcome with an obstinate nation’s refusal to repent. David’s soul fumed under the weight of sorrow on account of his separation from publicly worshiping God. These men were not psychotic; they did not need a psychiatrist. Their lives were simply out of balance, but they found the way out of burnout, and so can you.
1 Kings 19 begins with a message from Queen Jezebel that sends the powerful prophet Elijah into sheer panic and burnout. How does this fearless prophet who stood up to the prophets of Baal and who called fire from heaven suddenly flee on account of this idolatrous woman? Here we find this prophet who would never die and who would eventually be transferred into heaven by a whirlwind accompanied by chariots and horses of fire, praying to die, burned out. Next time we will glean from Elijah’s case some of the causes the burnout, and then we will look at the consequences and finally the cure to this common condition. Let us today look unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith to find strength to live victoriously today in whatever we face.
