Coronavirus Bible Study Series: June 24, 2020

Synopsis of Bible Study June 24, 2020

Delivered by Pastor Lee Bynum, MDiv.

PREVENTING MENTAL EXHAUSTION AND BURNOUT

Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

I. INTRODUCTION

1. Lots of people fill up their day with a lot of stuff and at the end of the day, they are not good for anything. They are worn out.

A. Having said this, many people are working harder during this Pandemic, than they ever have before.

2. What is burnout? It’s the loss of meaning in one’s work, coupled with mental, emotional, or physical exhaustion as the result of long-term unresolved stress.

A. Can you keep going on and on and it end up with it not having any meaning? The answer is “yes”! When stress and problems mount up, you can end up in a state of burnout.

3. Stress and burnout have been discussed a lot over the last decade. Stress varies from person to person. It depends on a variety of factors. Some of these is work, money, and health.

4. This Pandemic is a season that we have never been in before. As a result, it brings about a lot of stress for people. This means we need to find out how to relieve this stress.

5. Recently, 7500 employees were surveyed about burnout. 235 of those workers said they felt burnout more often than not. 44% felt like they had experienced burnout at one time or another.

A. People are walking around like the Walking Dead because they are operating in burnout.

II. FIVE STAGES OF BURNOUT

1. Honeymoon Phase – When you undertake a new task, you start out with a lot of zeal, commitment, and creativity. It is wonderful at first. In this stage, you readily try to prove yourself and you readily accept responsibility, you are looking for job satisfaction, you have sustained energy levels, and have unbridled optimism. When you realize things are not what you seem or you hit a brick wall, you crash.

2. Onset of Stress – Some days are more difficult than others. You experience anxiety, lack of sleep, or low productive. You are sinking. Nothing makes you feel better.

3. Chronic Stress – You move from motivation to depletion. Your stress level increases. You start socially withdrawing from family and friends and you engage in activities that do not involve people.

4. Burnout – Feeling of emptiness inside. You start just going through the motions. You start neglecting your personal needs. You want to drop out.

5. Habitual Burnout – You experience physical and emotional instability. It is more than occasional stress. You are just out there. Chronic mental fatigue and sadness begin to overtake you. What can we do about all of this?

III. SIX WAYS TO STOP WORRYING ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN’T CONTROL

1. Determine What You Cannot Control – Do not worry about what you can’t control.

Matthew 6:34 – “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”- You can’t prevent a storm, but you can prepare for it.

1. You must live in the now. You got to get to a point where you do not worry about what is going to happen tomorrow, you are going to live in the now. Do not miss today’s blessing worrying about tomorrow.

2. Focus on Your Influence – You can influence people and circumstances, but you can’t make things go your way.

A. For example, you can influence a child to study, but you cannot make them have a good GPA.

i. When you have concern about other people’s choices, this can stress you out.

3. Identify Your Fears – What are you afraid of? Are you predicting a catastrophic outcome?

A. There are people that will see this Pandemic as an Apocalyptic Event. This kind of stuff will burn you out.

4. Differentiate Between Ruminating and Problem Solving – Replaying conversations in your head isn’t helpful.

A. Is your thinking productive? Are you moving towards a solution to your situation or are you just replaying problems?

5. Create A Plan to Manage Your Stress – You must take time to manage your stress.

A. Jesus would go to a solitary place just to pray. You cannot continue to let things close in on you.

B. Eliminate unhealthy coping skills.

i. While you are in quarantine, you can pick up some bad coping skills and the next thing you know, these can become your defaults.

6. Develop Healthy Affirmations – Change the phrase, “I hope to do ok” to “I going to make it happen”. Change, “I hope ____ doesn’t happen” to “I can handle it”.

A. The power of life and death is in your tongue. Walk in the affirmation of God’s Word.

IV. BURNOUT RECOVERY AND PREVENTION (*Harvard Business Review)

Burnout can feel insurmountable. Just because you experience it, doesn’t mean it’s a life sentence.

4 Strategies to Prevention

1. Prioritize Self-Care – It is essential to replenish your physical and emotional self, access how you are spending your time, limit your presence with nonessential people, increase your investment in those that boost your energy, and make time to get away from your ever day task.

A. Do things that fill you up. Align your yourself with things that edify you and do not deplete you. Align with things that build you up in this season.

B. You cannot take care of your family if you are not taking care of yourself.

2. Shift Your Perspective – You must get at the root cause.

A. Colossians 3:1-3 – 1If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

B. Go to another realm in the spirit so you will not be pulled down to negativity.

C. You must want to be a spiritual person that operates at a different altitude.

3. Reduce Exposure to Stressors – Reset your expectations. You cannot be everything to everyone. You cannot solve everyone’s problems.

A. Solving everyone’s problems can lead to stress.

i. You cannot stress yourself out, carrying burdens that God did not intend for you to carry.

4. Seek Out Connections – When you seek rich interpersonal interactions or hang around people that offer mutual support, you start realizing that you do not have to live your life stressed out. Iron sharpens iron

A. Stress is a result of isolation. You have been micromanaging everything and not micromanaging your life.

V. THE CHRISTIAN’S SECRET WEAPON TO PREVENT BURNOUT

1. Live by God’s Desire

2. You have to slowdown. Hurrying is the recipe to burnout. It is not sustainable. God’s desire for you, should be your metric for success!

3. We must learn what is important and when to say no. Know that when you say yes to something, you are saying no to something else.

4. Reprioritize your life. Stop trying to please people that do not care anything about you.

5. Be concerned about one primary purpose. That purpose is to glorify God.

A. Know that God can get this done without you.

6. Colossians 3:23 – “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,” – Do it for the glory of God. Whatever you do, make sure the Lord is glorified.

7. Live by God’s Design

8. At any moment, you can go from waiting on it, to walking in it.

A. Psalm 40:4 – “Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, and does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.”

B. 2 John 13:7 – “Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”” – You must get to a point that you want to join in what God is doing, not he joins into what you are doing.

9. Stock the Pond

10. Stock the pond by consistently reading the scripture and prayer. This will make you have enough in the reservoir to go and find peace when you need it. You must fill yourself up, constantly.

11. Build yourself up in the word. Stock the pond. Make sure you are filling your life up, so you can go to this place and meditate on God’s word.

12. God calls Moses out of a bush that is on fire. The fire does not consume it. God says, “Go tell Pharaoh to let my people go”.

A. Why did God do it this way? Why did he use the burning bush? There must be a revelation.

B. The revelation is, whatever you do for God, have a burning for it, but never let it burn you out.

C. The moment you let it burn you out, then you have stepped outside the original assignment that God has for your life.

13. Stop taking on stuff that is not in your assignment. Stop saying yes to everything. No is an answer. Your children need you and your kingdom needs you. We can’t let you burnout.

14. Maybe we need to interpret this season as, “He made me lie down in green pastures by the still waters and He restored my soul”. Maybe God is restoring you, so you will never burn out again.

A. We need you. Do not contribute to your own demise by allowing stress. Take care of yourself.

15. I can have a burning without it burning me out when I am in the will of God.

16. You will never prevent burnout, until you are in proper alignment with God. If a car is not aligned, you run the risk of something else going wrong it.

Stay Informed.

Stay Safe.

Be Encouraged!