What’s Driving You to Burnout?
Let’s be real—before we get practical, we have to get honest.
Sure, burnout has its obvious culprits. You’re working too much. Your boundaries are paper-thin. Your phone hasn’t been off since the Bush administration. There’s always more to do, more people to help, more fires to put out. The church is growing, but you don’t have the right staff—or enough of them.
But beneath all of that, something deeper is usually driving you straight toward burnout like a GPS stuck on "self-destruction mode."
The Bible’s Burnout Story
As far as I can tell, the one clear case of burnout in the Bible is Elijah in 1 Kings 19. One minute, he’s a fearless prophet calling down fire from heaven. The next, he’s running for his life, overwhelmed and afraid. He isolates himself in the wilderness, collapses under a tree, and prays, “Take my life, Lord. I’m done.”
Fear. Anxiety. Isolation. Depression. Suicidal thoughts. If burnout had a poster child, Elijah would be on the cover.
But here’s what’s beautiful—God meets him there. No rebuke, no lecture, no “snap out of it.” Just kindness. He feeds him, lets him sleep, and gently invites him on a deeper journey. Because that’s what God does. He meets us in the mess. He doesn’t love you for what you can do for Him—He just loves you. And burnout, as awful as it is, can be an opportunity to discover that in a whole new way.
The Hidden Driver
When God finally speaks to Elijah, He asks, “What are you doing here?”
Elijah’s response? Basically, God, I’ve been working my tail off for You. I’ve done everything right, but no one else is pulling their weight. I’m the only one left, and now they’re trying to kill me too.
Twice, God asks the question. Twice, Elijah gives the same answer. You can almost hear the exhaustion in his voice: I’m the only one. It all depends on me.
And then, God drops a truth bomb: “There are 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed to Baal.”
Translation? Elijah, it doesn’t all rest on you.
And maybe that’s the belief driving you, too—the quiet, relentless thought that says, If I stop, everything falls apart. That mindset doesn’t just exhaust you; it deceives you. And if left unchecked, it’ll drive you straight into the burnout ditch.
What’s Driving You?
We all have mixed motives. Yes, we want to reach people for Christ, but we also don’t want to fail. Yes, we want our churches to grow because we love making disciples—but a little external validation never hurt, right?
The goal isn’t to have pure motives (good luck with that). The goal is to recognize what’s driving us, surrender it to Jesus, and keep it in check.
For me? I had to admit that alongside my genuine love for ministry, there were some not-so-holy drivers lurking underneath. I was hooked on church growth—not just for God’s glory, but because it fed my ego. I craved validation, probably traced back to some father wounds I hadn’t let my Heavenly Father fully heal. And let’s be honest—being needed feels good, and ministry was a great distraction from some emotions I didn’t want to face.
So, what’s driving you?
Burnout isn’t just about working too much—it’s about what’s fueling that work. Yes, we’ll talk about practical solutions (stay tuned for my next post on the top three proven ways to avoid burnout), but first, let’s make sure we’re dealing with what’s at the heart of it.
Because burnout doesn’t just happen—it’s driven. And if you can name the driver, you can take the wheel back.
