Dear Pastor,
I know you understand what I am talking about.
You reach down deep, you try with all your might and you still just don’t have anything else to give. Whether it is to your congregation, your friends or your family, you just know that no matter how much you want to help them you feel dry, empty and tired.
In a particular way, pastors are susceptible to this type of fatigue because of the constant demands, the relentless spiritual attacks and the deep needs our people have.
I pray for you that God will give you rest, replenish your soul, fill you with His joy and help you to overcome by His Holy Spirit at work inside of you.
Please make sure to reach out to others who can help carry the load and can offer encouragement and wisdom as you keep pressing on. Take time off work, make sure to fill your heart and mind through worship, meditation on the Lord and sacred time with God in prayer and the Word. You may be on the brink of burnout, but God is able to fill you to full and overflowing. Just don’t try to do it alone and don’t keep pouring out of your emptiness, it won’t help others anyway. People need to be ministered to out of the depths of riches that we pastors receive from God, so if we are empty we need to take a sabbatical (whether for one afternoon, or a day/week/month) so that we can give to others according to the beautiful gifts that we ourselves have received from our good, good Father.Let us recognize that we must never abandon our family, marriage or personal health as we sacrifice for the kingdom.
Please know that I understand your pain and am praying for you. Feel free to reach out if you want a listening ear. And no matter what you do: when you take a break from serving, never take a break from God, and recognize that God can replenish when nothing else can.
I thank God for pastors like you who sacrifice for His glory and for His kingdom,
Christ is with us, Christ is in us!
Mike J
Pastor Michael Johnson 