So This Struck a Nerve

I’ve been thinking a lot about this past Sunday. I told a story from a season early in ministry. Jenna and I were three years into marriage, and life was moving fast. We were part of a church plant that exploded from 0 to 3,000 people in three years. We launched a national youth conference, two TV broadcasts, a college, and we were in the middle of a multi-state church initiative stretching from Texas to Michigan.

From the outside? It looked like revival. But behind the scenes? We were running on fumes.

Then a trusted prophet pulled us aside and said something I wasn’t prepared for: “You’re burnt out.”

I wanted to argue. Push back. Say, “No, we’re just in a busy season.” But deep down I knew she was right. We were physically tired, emotionally drained, spiritually empty.

That moment struck a nerve. Maybe it does for you too.

I meet so many people who love God deeply, but the fire they once had has turned to a flicker. They’re still moving…but it’s out of momentum, not passion.

So let me ask what I’ve been asking myself: Are you still burning or are you burning out?

Here are a few signs of spiritual burnout that I shared this week:

  • Diminished passion for the things of God – You’ve lost the joy you once had. 
  • Irritability, apathy, or numbness – You get frustrated easily or just don’t care like you used to.
  • Increased temptation and sin – Key indication…your guard is down. You ask, “what was I thinking.” Lastly if you’re no longer grieved by what you once were, look out!!
  • Prayer and reading the Word feel routine.
  • Joyless service and duty-driven faith. 
  • Feeling spiritually distant or dry. 
  • Loss of direction or clarity. 
  • Isolation and avoidance of community – You distance yourself (Sunday attendance, ministry, servce, etc). 
  • Desire to quit, give up, or escape(escapism is my warning). 

If any of these sound familiar, you’re not alone, and you’re not failing.

Burnout isn’t a sign of weakness it’s a sign you’ve been running too long without refueling.

Paul said it this way, “We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength…but that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:8–9)

The answer isn’t to push through, it’s to get into His Presence.

You and I were never meant to run on our strength but His. We burn with a different kind of fire.

“His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones…” (Jeremiah 20:9)

Dunamis. That’s the word Paul uses. God’s power. Spirit-born strength that fuels passion, endurance, and boldness.

“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.” (Isaiah 40:29)

Let me leave you with this. You don’t burn out because you’re weak. You burn out because you’re empty.

It’s time to refuel.

With You On The Journey,

Pastor

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