“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Gal 6:9

Have you found yourself becoming more cynical or critical? Do you drag yourself to work/church and have trouble getting started or engaging once you arrive? Have you become irritable or impatient with people in your life? Do you lack the energy and enthusiasm? Do you find a lack of satisfaction in your achievements and an inability to rejoice with anyone else’s? Do you feel disillusioned? Are you using food, drugs or alcohol to feel better or to simply not feel? Have your sleep habits or appetite changed? Are you troubled by unexplained physical complaints? These are all signs of weariness or as the world terms it burnout, and yes, it is growing more and more prevalent both inside and outside the church.

Weariness, fatigue, burnout and depression are not normally words we would like to associate with believers, yet we cannot afford to ignore them. In Paul’s epistle to the Galatians he exhorts them to “not grow weary while doing good”, which obviously means that weariness is something that we will all have to confront on our journey of faith. Isaiah is a little more forthright when he says, “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall” (Is 40:30) thankfully Isaiah doesn’t just leave us with a terminal negative statement, he then shows us the way forward! “But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

With depression affecting 1 in 5 people and workforce burnout responsible for contributing to physical and mental health issues, marriage/family breakdowns and increased reliance on self-destructive behaviours such as drugs/alcohol/gambling and high-risk activities to mask unfulfilled lives. It is fairly evident that Christians are not immune from having to deal with weariness, fatigue, depression and burnout. Rowland Croucher of John Mark Ministries sites some startling statistics in the American Church scene but the one that really struck me was over 1500 ministers leave the ministry every month. How then can we guard ourselves from falling into the snare of weariness that is silently devouring the gift of abundant life that we freely received from our Lord and Saviour. When you are just “fulfilling a role but the role is no longer fulfilling” it’s time to wait upon the Lord. Many of us fill our lives with so much stuff (even good stuff) that we no longer have time to wait upon the Lord, and when you disconnect from the source of life, sooner or later, life will overwhelm you!

We must ruthlessly remove from our lives those things that consume our time and disconnect us from the source of life. It does not mean to remove the things that are no longer fulfilling! They may be the very things God wants us to stick with, so we can reap in due season! We must guard our hearts from the time stealers that cause us to disengage from our Father in Heaven. “But those who wait on the Lord SHALL renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Dear friends, won’t you set aside your life this day to reconnect with the Source of Life? Our Saviour, Jesus the Christ.