Rest and Relax to Prevent Burn Out

A couple of weeks ago, I asked the pertinent question; “How do you unwind?” touching on the importance of resting and the need to take time out to relax so that we can unwind successfully from the riggers of the day, a week, a month, or even a year.

Noting that we each need to create / develop new disciplines so that we can rest and relax from the burdens of the day / week, or at least re-establish those that have worked for us in the past.

Recognising that we need to diarise regular time off and intentionally block it out in our calendar, just as we would other appointments. And that we need to take time out of the hustle and bustle of everyday life – literally ‘come… apart‘ from the world, ensuring that we are getting enough exercise and sleep.

You see, when we rest, even if for slightly less than half an hour, the relaxation response that kicks in allows us to reverse our natural fight-or-flight response that often accompanies adrenaline.

Psalm 23:2-3 says that God “offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace near the quiet brook of bliss. That’s where he restores and revives my life. He opens before me the right path and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to his name.” (The Passion Translation).

Note that He provides resting places so that He can restore and revive our lives – and I don’t know about you but I’m constantly amazed that in those moments, He gives me the strength and the resolve that I need to carry on irregardless of the challenges that I may be facing in life; be that in ministry or new issues associated with my health journey.

The thing is, rest and relaxation are extremely important as they counteract the damaging effect of stress on our bodies and help to prevent us from burning out.

God not only provides us rest – He constantly calls us to rest!

Throughout the Bible He reminds us to take a Sabbath, to recuperate, to reflect, to unwind, to rest and relax, to cast off our burdens and to trust in Him as He refreshes us.

But in amongst the busyness of our lives, and the demands that are either placed upon us, consciously or unconsciously, from ourselves and others to achieve a myriad of tasks etc. we can let the importance of resting and relaxing slip. And in so doing our anxiety levels tend to go through the roof and stress starts to have a negative effect on many of our lives.

Often I come with my problems and cares,
Running to You when distressed,
But I must bring You the whole of my life –
Lord, I must give You my best.*

So, here are a few suggestions to help assist you and I from burning out and getting a better handle on resting and relaxing.

Join a support group. Ask yourself, who fills the role of Paul to your Timothy? Who teaches you to pray like Jesus and John the Baptist taught their disciples? With whom can you share your struggles?

The Bible says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend”
Proverbs 27:17 (New Living Translation).

We each need to surround ourselves with people that understand what we are going through; ministry peers, mentors and coaches that understand our physical, emotional and spiritual needs and who can suggest new, refreshing spiritual practices that can help realign us as we journey life and faith together. This may include spiritual directors / guides, counsellors and supervisors that can go even deeper recommending certain spiritual disciplines and/or tools and resources that can help equip us for the journey.

Use the word ‘No’ – without apology. Know your gifts, passions, energies, talents, skills, strengths and limitations. We each need to make an inventory of what genuinely excites us and what we are good at, noting also any weaknesses that we may need to work on going forward. As once we have a clearer understanding of who we are and what we are capable of we can start exploring how these components can translate into a making our life more enjoyable and fulfilling.    

We also need to admit that it is OK to say ‘No’ to a myriad of stuff that we are doing in our lives that may not be beneficial, or at least require large amounts of time and energy that we may not have the where with alls to work on, or through. We need to face our fears; don’t avoid them, bury them or pretend they don’t exist. And, try to avoid falling into a state of helplessness. Taking time to develop beneficial coping strategies. Don’t imagine that ordinary events are catastrophes – that’s a sure sign of burnout! And don’t adhere to a certain viewpoint just because you always have; like outdated clothes, it can become ill-fitting and absurd.

Realise it’s okay to have fun. Laughter increase endorphins (‘feel-good hormones’) and reduces stress hormones – and that’s a good thing!

God wants to refresh our souls!

In John 15:11 Jesus said; “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
(New King James Version)

He also said that unless you and I “become like a child, we will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven” Matthew 18:3
(Contemporary English Version)

You see, children don’t try to run the world single-handedly or obsess about the work that’s piling up; they live in the moment.

Life has no purpose unless it is Yours;
Life without You has no goal;
All that fulfils me is doing Your will,
Knowing that You’re in control.*

So why not grab a pen and paper, a journal, or your electronic notebook and start working through a list of gifts, passions, energies, talents, skills, strengths and limitations that you bring to your actions and interactions – you may just surprise yourself with what you note down.

You may even want to invite a trusted friend and/or colleague that you trust impeccably to a cuppa and a slice to help you work through the above list. And once completed pray over the areas that you find encouraging, thanking God for making you the way that you are. Then plotting out a bit of a course of action to improve in the areas that you think you need to work on / through, asking Jesus for his strength and joy for each day!

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The team at Spiramentum Ministries have recognised that we can all get busy doing a myriad of stuff in our lives, some of which is exhilarating and uplifting. While there are also times when it seems as if that same stuff is draining the very life out of us.

When we become so busy that we start to lose sight of the things that matter we can also start missing out on those things that bring us joy.

We’ve also become increasingly aware that every week, month and year we each need to take time out of our busy schedules to rest, relax, refocus, and rejuvenate our bodies, minds and souls.

Therefore, we aim to assist people to focus on creating time and space in their lives to breathe. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, get in touch with us through Facebook, LinkedIn, or via email: perry.pacpe@gmail.com

Blessings ’til next time 🙂

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* Verse 1 & 2 of William Himes Salvation Army Song Book hymn ‘All That I Am’ – The below video features a beautiful rendition of the song by The Salvation Army’s USA Southern Territorial Songster Brigade.

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Creating a Rhythm of Sabbath Rest

If you’re involved in church ministry I’m sure that you can relate to the following couple of statements that Josh Reich* shares in his article, which was posted on Sermon Central on the 23rd of November 2022, entitled ‘Creating a Rhythm of Sabbath Rest‘.

“I have too many things on my calendar” or,

“At the end of the day I don’t have energy for my spouse, kids or the people who matter most to me.”

As we come towards arguably the busiest time of the Christian calendar we are all feeling a tad tired, overwhelmed and rundown. The Covid-19 pandemic, what with its lockdowns and societal restrictions that were placed on us and now for some the uncertainty that we are now living in, have taken their toll. The upheaval of constantly having to adapt, change and morph has caused us to question just about everything, and the turmoil that surrounds us (economic concerns, war, failing systems etc.) has become almost unbearable.  

It’s as if we are hanging out for the Christmas / New Year holidays to begin and we can take a much needed rest after the Christmas Day service, even if all that means is to shut the doors for a while, breathe, clean up and gather our thoughts long enough to figure out what we can start doing next year and when.

Josh goes on to state that; “God calls us to be healthy. Healthy spiritually, physically, relationally, emotionally, and mentally. God created us, and all of us are meant to glorify Him” and asks a pertinent question, “Am I living in a way that is sustainable and will help me thrive tomorrow?“

This is something that I have had to come to grips with big time, as I constantly deal with the effects of fatigue brought on by Interstitial Lung Disease, which is associated with a rare autoimmune disease called Scleroderma.

One day I can literally feel right as rain and get a myriad of things done, the next I can barely make it out of bed.

I’ve been on a steep learning curve over the past year and a bit, as I learn how to pace myself, both in the area of my overall health and well-being – and also in the area of mission and ministry.

Looking at what I am able to contribute and accomplish, now that I’m living with an invisible disability. 

I have had to learn the importance and practice of Sabbath Rest. 

But what does that look like practically on a day to day basis?

Creating a Rhythm of Sabbath Rest

Josh provides the following five ideas that can help:

1. Let go because Jesus has this. 

As our Sabbath rest, we need to let go and give Jesus our burdens, stress, and anxiety and rest in Him. We know we will have burdens, stress and anxieties because Jesus tells us we will, and we are to give them to him.

Because of Jesus’ work, coming from heaven to earth, we are able to accept our limitations. Because Jesus is limitless, we can rest in Him. Not only that, seeing Jesus as our rest is about trusting and enjoying Jesus as better than what we are running from or running in.

2. Schedule rest and recreation. 

It won’t just happen. Hebrews 4:1-13 tells us that we are to enter God’s rest and Exodus 20:8-11 tells us to;

“Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.”

There is an active move on our part as it relates to rest. Sabbath throughout Scripture is an intentional thing, not something that is thrown together at the end.

The reality in being intentional also comes into play when it comes to our calendars and how we spend our time.

Our lack of rest, while we often blame others, really comes down to our problem of stopping, trusting God and being okay with not doing certain things.

Everytime you say yes to one thing you say no to something else.

The number one complaint [many of us] hear from people is, “I don’t have time. I don’t have time for hobbies, sleep, my marriage, relationships, kids, reading my Bible.” You do, you just gave that time away.

You give your time to the things that matter most. So what gets your time is what is important. This is why taking control of your calendar matters. If you don’t control your calendar, someone else will.

3. Learn how you rest best. 

What does enjoying God look like? I think there are some basic principles, but each of us will do this in unique ways. If the goal of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, Sabbath rest is a great way to do this.

For all of us, this will also include the reality of place. Place matters when it comes to glorifying God, enjoying God and resting in God.

Place is all throughout Scripture. Adam and Eve were given a garden, the nation of Israel was given a land, the church is given a city in Revelation.

There is a place where rest, connecting to God, feeling closer to God happens for each of us, and it is important to think through that. For some it is a farm, the woods, a mountain, a city, a beach, but figure it out.

4. Fight against technology. 

A few practical things [can] help: resting from social media once a week, not having phones at the table so I can enjoy family time and conversations with friends, not checking email at night or on the weekends.

The sad thing is that study after study says that as we become more and more technological as a culture, we become more and more distant and lonely.

5. Review your day and week. 

In his helpful book The Rest of God, Mark Buchanan says that at the end of your day ask: Where did I feel most alive, most hopeful, most in the presence of God? And where did I feel most dead, most despairing, farthest from God? What fulfilled me, and what left me forsaken? Where did I taste consolation, and where desolation?

This helps you to see where God is moving and at work. Part of Sabbath rest is celebrating that God is in control, resting in that, but also celebrating God’s goodness in our lives.

For me personally one of the things that I have instituted into my monthly routine, which has become a non-negotiable, is to take a respite day once a month and go to a place where I can relax, enjoy nature, and focus on what God is saying to me in the moment.

How about you? What do you need to do to “Create a Rhythm of Sabbath Rest” in your life? I pray that you spend the time you need to work out what works for you, so that you can live in a way that is sustainable and will help you thrive tomorrow and in the days to come.

Blessings ’til next time 🙂

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* Josh Reich is the Lead Pastor at Community Covenant Church in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. Their mission is to help people take their next step with God, and his personal blog is all about inspiring people to be more!

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