"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 (NIV)
“I’m living like I’m in hell.”
The realization swept over me. Or rather, I should say it crashed into me like wave – knocking me down and pulling me disoriented under the water.
When I finally managed to overcome the initial shock of my revelation, I sat there deeply convicted.
The trigger for such a drastic declaration? I had just read Paul’s words in 2 Thessalonians explaining how those who do not know and obey God will find themselves “punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and the majesty of his power.” (1:9) And, unfortunately, I had to confess that the way I felt – far from God and His power – had more in common with Paul’s description of hell than it did with the promises of God’s Kingdom.
So, while I might have been a little over dramatic with my initial outburst, the truth remained: I claimed I believed in the power and freedom of Christ, and yet, practically, I was living a life separated from those promises. A life not of abiding faith, but of anxious striving. And far from feeling free and full of God’s power, I felt burdened and burned out.
“Burnout.” According to Psychology Today, burnout is recognized as “a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress” and is often manifested in other symptoms including anxiety, depression, cynicism, and loss of motivation. But perhaps, the reality of burnout is even deeper than that. As in the profound words of theologian Henri J.M. Nouwen,
“…I was living in a very dark place and the term ‘burnout’ was a convenient psychological translation for a spiritual death.”
Exhaustion. Anxiety. Depression. Cynicism. Could it be that what I experienced as burnout was rooted less in the demands and challenges of my life than it was in my spiritual health? That it stemmed from living a life more of practical atheism than one truly rooted in Jesus? A life of striving in my own power and might until, like a candle with nothing left to give, I ended up burned out with nothing to show for all my effort.
And so, I quietly confessed my striving and lack of practical faith to the Lord asking Him to forgive me and to receive a renewed outpouring of His Spirit.
It was in that moment then that God breathed new life to my weary heart. That the promises from His Word took on new meaning, and I begin to see them as promises not only for life in His Kingdom to come but for the lives of Believers here and now:
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1, NIV)
“For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.” (1 Cor 4:20 , NLT)
“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor 3:17, NLT)
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Tim 1:17 , NLT)
So, may we no longer live life on our own strength and might cut off from God. Instead, let us who proclaim faith in Jesus take hold of the promises of God. And, when we find ourselves burdened and burned out, may we return to Jesus – confessing any practical unbelief in our hearts, letting go of our constant striving, and laying our burdens at the foot of His cross.
Then, may we live lives rooted in Him, built on His Word, and open to His leading. Let us live lives of faith, calling on the name of Jesus, the one “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” May we live in the power and freedom of Christ.
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