getting burnt out

[Carlitos]

I never thought this would happen, but I think i'm getting kinda burnt out on God. I dont know how to explain it. It seems that everytime I try to think of Him, to pray, to spend some time by His side, this weariness comes upon me. These last four or five weeks have been really stressful for me, and I've come into this Christmas break pretty much burnt out on everything, but I never even thought it would happen like this. I'm getting tired of doing my music ministry, of going to youth group, of bible study, and i cant believe it!!!

The idea went through my head earlier today that maybe I should "take a break" from being so close to God. Does that even make sense? The reasoning behind it is that, as with any other relationships, a relationship with God can get old, so one would need to kinda step off for a while or just relax. But, wouldn't that be...uhmm.....bad?? I think doing something like that would end up working against me in the end. I also thought that I should work on being closer to Jesus, regardless of how tired I'm getting of it.

I hope that makes halfway the sense it makes to me. I cant sleep and its late. If you have any ideas on this, please give them to me. If not, PLEASE PRAY!! I love you guys as always.

God bless

 

[seebs]

I might recommend trying to find a different way to get closer to God. You may be a bit burnt out on ministry; it can be very tiring work. Don't forget that the holiday season is when depression peaks in the US; you may just be depressed. Remember, sometimes God gives us rest, too; it's not always more work to do.

 

[SportsGal]

I know how you feel....I am the same way myself. I will be on fire for God for a while (usually about a month or so) then I guess I get tired of it...I don't really know, but I fall away for a while and then the cycle starts again...

I hate that! I pray that I could be more consistent in my relationship with God, but then the same thing happens over and over again. I want to stay on fire and live for God all the time....

I don't really have anything to suggest, but to pray about your concerns....God knows your heart and knows what you are going through...he sent His son so that you could lay all your burdens at the foot of the cross. Even though it feels weird telling God that you are tired of him, he probably understands!

 

"Cast all your anxiety on Him, for he cares" 1 Peter 5:7

 

[Carlitos]

Thanks for responding Seebs. I've pretty much come to an understanding of that. I know better than to "stay busy for Christ." That's not much of the problem. Ever gone on a retreat and came back just really tired of everyone you were around? That's exactly how I feel when I'm praying. Thing is, I'm scared to back off cause God's different, you know? He's with us all the time.

Hehe, and i doubt it has anything to do with the holidays. They're going great for me.

Love ya!!

 

[seebs]

I dunno. I have noticed that my relationship with God fluctuates. I don't worry too much; He'll be there when I need Him. Is this horribly one-sided? Duh! Of *course* it's horribly one-sided; He's God, I'm not. He seems pretty good about finding things to get me fired up again when necessary.

 

[SportsGal]

Sometimes for me it seems as though it's all or nothing, either I'm fired up  or there is nothing there at all. Any suggestions on finding the solid ground. I always feel as though I'm on a roller coaster in my relationship with God...

 

Sorry to hi-jack your thread Carlitos

 

[seebs]

Sometimes, when I just don't *feel* motivated, I act anyway, because I *know* what I should be doing.

 

[SportsGal]

I feel that if you are just going to "act" then there is no point in doing it. God knows that your heart is not in it and therefore, whether or not you do anything is irrelevant.

Does the "acting" usually rekindle the fire for God? If you make yourself do what you are supposed to  do you find that God works his way back into your heart and sooner or later you are doing things because you want to...

 

[seebs]

The thing is, I'm not doing these things to "fool God" or anything like that; I'm doing them because they are *the right thing to do*.

So, say I've been fighting with my wife, and I just don't feel "in love" today, and she's sick. Even though I may not be *feeling* very romantic, I'm going to coddle her; bring her chicken soup, wrap her up in blankets, make sure she's got some movies to watch or something. The reason to do this isn't to trick God into thinking I am happy, or to fool my wife into thinking we didn't fight. It's that my wife is sick, and I can ease her discomfort, and it is objectively right that I should do so.

See? Do things because they're right, not just because you feel like it. God knows your heart, and there's no point trying to "fool" him into thinking your heart is in it - but that doesn't mean that the things He wants us to do suddenly become bad ideas.

I guess, when I say "act", I mean that in the sense of "take action", not like "act in a play". Not to fool people, but to achieve a desired effect.

 

[carmen]

Praying for you.

 

[wvmtnkid]

That's some good advice seebs. You are right that God knows our hearts. He knows how you feel right now Carlitos and SportsGal. When I read through this, I couldn't help but think of part of the story of Elijah. Remember when he defeats the prophets of Baal and experiences a great spiritual victory? You would think we would be riding high on God, right? But what does he do when he gets word that Jezebel has his number and wants to get rid of him like he did her religious people? He runs! As fast as he can. He just picks up and runs away from everything. During this time, he was ministered to by an angel. He was allowed to rest and the angel provided food for him. So this tells me that God understands this reaction. He knows that we aren't pushing Him away, we are just overwhelmed by life at the moment. But back to Elijah. After resting for a bit, God sent him to Mt. Horeb. It was at this point that God revealed himself to Elijah in that small, still whisper. Elijah hadn't turned from God and God knew that. He understood Elijah's feelings and helped him to get back into the groove of things.

We can take heart from that story, I think. God knows our every emotion and wants to help us through the dry spots. We just have to keep our hearts open to Him and He will show us the way. I don't think you should take a break from God, but maybe a break from some of the stuff you are doing ministry wise. My advice would be don't give up everything but just give yourself time to rest in the Lord and let Him show you what He has for you to do. I had to do this for awhile. I was so bogged down with activities at my church. I finally came to the point where I was of no use to anybody, especially God, because I was so burnt out. I had to step back for awhile and let God lead me to what He wanted me to do. And now I feel stronger in my relationship with God and feel that He has me where I would be of the most use for Him.

Sorry for going on and on! But I hope this helps in some way!

to you both!

 

[SportsGal]

Seebs...I understand what you mean now

Thanks for the encouragement everyone!

 

[Carlitos]

Yeah you guys are awesome!! Merry Christmas!!