Burned Out
Hebrews 12:1,2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Do you find it hard to focus these days? Everything seems to run together. This week is the same as the last, and by all appearances, the next week will be the same, too. Routine has sunk in. The brain easily goes into auto-pilot. Sure, you can find distractions. But even those distractions are routine. Look at your phone for the 50th time today. Watch TV after work again. Take a walk around the same block.
On top of the sameness is the busyness. How can you focus when you have a million things to do today? Multitask, multitask, multitask. Jump back and forth between project A and project B. Cook dinner, entertain the kids, and walk the dog all at the same time.
And maybe for you all the sameness and the busyness has led to focus-paralysis. You might call it burnout. You know what you have to get done. But you just can’t bring yourself to do any of it, not even one little part of it. You just can’t do what you need to do anymore.
When we lose focus, we need to be refocused. When we’re burned out, we need to be refreshed. The writer to the Hebrews writes, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.” Part of our focus problem is a struggle with priorities. We put everything on the same level. Working is put on the same level as taking care of family which is put on the same level as relaxing which is put on the same level as running errands which is put on the same level as being with friends. Even the least important things in life are often given the same priority as the most important things. And all these priorities are put on the same level as Jesus. Sometimes, there isn’t even enough room for him.
There’s only one you. And there’s only one Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith who can save you from burnout. He has endured the cross and scorned its shame. He sits at the right hand of the throne of God. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead and bring us to the life of the world to come.
Just because you fix your eyes on Jesus first and foremost doesn’t mean other tasks are unimportant. In fact, he protects you from burnout. Hear the prophet’s words: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
Where does strength come from? It comes from the new creation we are in Christ. Without Christ, we tend to focus inward. We tend to do our assigned tasks simply for the sake of doing them. We do them because that’s what we’re supposed to do. But in Christ we are a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17) We have been reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). We don’t do our work for work’s sake. When our eyes are fixed on the one who loved us first, he turns our eyes toward those through whom we can now show love to him in return. No longer thinking, “I cook dinner because I have to,” but thinking, “I am cooking this dinner for my family.” No longer working my job because, “Society expects me to work, and I have bills to pay,” but seeing how your work serves someone else even in a way you might consider trivial or even if you never see the face of the person who receives the benefit of your work.
This strength comes from joy. “For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God.” It was joyous for Jesus to go to the cross because he knew he was going to save you from sin, death, and hell. This joy he shares with you in the freedom he gives you to run the race marked out for you, to be “God's handiworkcreated in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). This joy, “the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).