Burnout

Elijah walked a whole day into the wilderness. He stopped and sat down in the shade of a tree and wished he would die. “It's too much, Lord,” he prayed. “Take away my life; I might as well be dead!” ~ 1 Kings 19:4
    
     The LORD instructed Elijah to request an audience with King Ahab so the prophet could correct the king and usher in the end of a three-year drought. Under Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, the people devoted themselves to worshiping and serving Baal. Baal is a powerful enemy of the LORD. Elijah condemned the king and his wife and the priests of Baal and demanded a showdown with them. 1 Kings 18-19 tell the sometimes humorous and sometimes terrifying story of the encounter. Ultimately, the LORD validated Elijah by destroying the cult of Baal and bringing rain to the parched land. Why then did Elijah end up isolated, discouraged, and ready to give up? 
     I think Elijah was burned out. Elijah enthusiastically embraced his role. His unconditional allegiance to the LORD is clear throughout his ministry years. His love for God showed in the way he cared for widows and orphans, the poor and oppressed, foreigners, and marginalized people. Elijah passionately preached truth in love and willingly rebuked authorities at the risk of suffering condemnation and retribution.
     Elijah’s long career seems to have taken a toll, especially during the season of drought. His fidelity, innovation, and perspicacity held the faithful together while a majority of their neighbors embraced the worldly cult of Baal. When the LORD brought Elijah before the king and the priests of Baal, Elijah was short-tempered, cynical, and crude with them. God vindicated him anyway. I think it only added to his burnout, because Elijah knew the victory belonged to God, which only made him feel inadequate and ineffective.       
     Listen to what Elijah told the LORD when asked, “What are you doing here?” - “Lord God Almighty, I have always served you—you alone. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed all your prophets. I am the only one left—and they are trying to kill me!” (1 Kings 19:10) God asked a second time, “What are you doing here?” and Elijah answered with the same words again. Elijah was worn out!
     Eventually, the LORD whittled down Elijah’s congregation so that only the faithful remained. Then, the LORD sent Elijah to his successor so that he could pass the mantle on to him. God honored Elijah and gave him a unique end to his service, but Elijah’s burnout was unrecoverable. 
     Burnout is a common problem for the LORD’s servants. It follows predictable patterns. Cynicism, feelings of inadequacy, joyless, hopeless efforts, hypersensitivity, indifference, lethargy, headaches, and irregular sleep are all signs of burnout. 
     If you’re suffering through it, especially during the drought caused by the pandemic, you are not alone. In fact, I won’t be trying to tell you what to do about it, because I don’t know right now. I just know that it is unlikely that we will be led to our successor and then into a glorious retirement in Heaven. We will need support and determination to get through burnout and it probably won’t happen overnight. Pray that people who really care will grant you grace and come alongside while you recover from a debilitating illness. 

Be Courageous

 . . . he [she] is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.  ~ Romans 13:4 

    Biblical wisdom informs us of our LORD’s resolve to bring order where there is chaos, justice where there is oppression, and peace where there is discord. Likewise, we can see the Enemy’s fierce resistance. To be sure, where there is chaos, oppression, and discord, the Enemy cheerfully cackles with pleasure. 

    Imagine a season in which the LORD’s partners in peacemaking, justice, and order are among the most derided in a culture. A broad view of those divine partnerships includes many honorable men and women who serve their community in a variety of capacities. I’ve singled out a few unsung heroes in my weekly attempts to encourage lately. Today, I desire to uplift our protectors. 

    The Enemy is relentless in pursuit of his ultimate aim, the defeat of our LORD, Jesus Christ. Therefore, he orchestrates chaos, oppression, and discord within the human family, especially among those who would be the Bride of Christ. He generates fear and faithlessness, grief and sorrow, suspicion and hatred. He suppresses the good news by creating conditions wherein the weaker members of the evangel throng cower in angst. 

    Therefore, we are obliged to those who stand against incredible pressures to protect and defend the rest of us. Our protectors serve the LORD by enforcing just laws designed to enable intercourse and information for the sake of a greater good. They are partakers in the divine nature, if only in the execution of their righteous duties.   

    When protectors and helpers in our community stand in the breach between order and chaos, freedom and oppression, peace and discord, they are like Christ, who perfectly did so for humanity. His sacrificial death saved the divine creation. Similarly, the honorable dead among protectors gave all for the sake of others. 

    The protected should hold protectors accountable, just as we entrust our own accountability to the community, to humanity, to them. We must come alongside our protectors and helpers and their loved ones. We must think of them as we would our own family members, supporting, encouraging, and correcting as needed.

    While most of them go on, unheralded and misunderstood, they are the glue that binds our community together. The unbeliever will say there is no God, while pointing out the chaos, oppression, and discord. He will address the few protectors whose inner corruption causes the things we charge them with preventing, while ignoring the vast majority who honorably serve lest total anarchy reign. The Christian Believer must join the protectors in running toward the things that frighten us, because the cause is entirely justifiable. 

    Christian Believer, especially you, who choose to protect others, go about your daily tasks imitating Christ. Where He is courageous and unconventional, do likewise. Where He is gentle and resolute, be likewise. 

    Law enforcers always consider the spirit of the law. When the law is just and reasonable, enforce it in good faith. Where it and its authors serve the Enemy, delivering chaos, oppression, and discord, be courageous. 

    Evangel throng, do not grow weary in doing the LORD’s will. Proclaim His good news and serve at all costs for its sake. Consider your life and times from the Father’s eternal perspective and be courageous. 

The Lord of the Harvest

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.” ~ Matthew 9:37-38

    There is a familiar sight across the land around this time of year. Dust clouds boil around giant farm machines operated by neighbors and friends as they harvest the crops of corn, beans, and other vital nutrients. Each year, the farmers we see cultivating, planting, spraying, and harvesting risk their lives and livelihoods to provide for their families and countless others. Each planted seed carries hope and expectation with it into the soil. 
 Jesus accurately described the farmer’s plight, saying, “some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings. Still other seed fell on good soil and produced a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.” (Matthew 13:5-8)
    When the farm equipment, loaded grain trailers, and heavily laden pickup trucks stir our impatience while we race here and there, annoyed by every minor inconvenience, let it be a reminder of our shared calling. The Lord of the Harvest called us into the fields because millions of souls are ripe for the picking. The Lord sees them like we see the vast, rolling fields across our native Midwest. He asks only that we step out of our routines and see the fruit right before our eyes. Discouraged, hopeless, broken people; vain, vapid, consumers who self medicate to placate their inner fears and longings; pursuits of the flesh define purposeless wanderers whose minds rarely consider eternal things. 
    Few of us realize the impact our farming neighbors have on so many lives. Their risky, hard work helps to fuel people, and industries far and wide. We literally eat the food they raise and harvest, and we all use an endless array of products created from their labor. Jesus would have us know His Kingdom is the same. The Kingdom of Christ encompasses the entire people of God, saved by God’s grace. Even while we mourn the passage of an imagined golden age in our society, we must not forget the profound influence of Christians and Jews. If it were possible to extract Judeo-Christian values from society, it would be like abandoning fields across the nation’s heartland. Weeds, vermin, wildfires, and other natural disasters would quickly replace the once fruitful lands. 
    Of course, there should be a place for wildflowers and other natural vegetation to grow. Environments suited to the needs of wild animals and other creatures are always necessary. But, the Lord of the harvest created all the natural resources we take for granted so that we could join Him in what is doing, so that God’s we will fulfil divine purposes. When you see the farmers at work, it is an image of God’s divine purpose. They witness miracles every day as they sow a small seed that yields so much more in just a little while. So, consider the joys that await the one who enters the Lord’s harvest with such faith? 
    Now, as you witness the ripened fields, the farming families at work through the day and into the night, and the freshly cut stalks ask the Lord of the Harvest to show you the fruit that He desires you to recover. Ask Him now to let you join Him in all that He does. Plead with the Lord to show you the folly that preoccupied you before, so that you can put it aside for a little while. May the Lord give you the faith and courage of the farmers.     
 

Do Not Grow Weary of Doing Good ~ A Tribute to My Local Hospital

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. ~ Galatians 6:9

     I recently took part in a meeting with members of the local hospital staff. They represented all aspects of care and management. It has honored me to join them regularly over the past few years as they describe the challenges they face, especially since the onset of COVID-19. To say these dedicated professionals are weary would be an understatement. As always, they hope to heal the sick, restore the broken, and comfort the dying. They must also comfort frightened, grieving, and confused loved ones whose care is often more demanding, yet not technically appointed to them. Moral and spiritual dilemmas routinely afflict compassionate caregivers who often relate to patients and loved ones as if they were family. Sadly, they seldom receive a return of the favor. 
     Medical professionals understand that end-user engagement is the main purpose of the hospital’s existence, but the outcome involves multiple layers of support from many disciplines. Hospitals function like small cities. They require most of the same governance, utilities, and quality of life resources. Persons who rarely experience direct contact with patients fulfil many vital roles. In fact, patient care and the quality of institutional life would crumble without them. Therefore, when anyone in the hospital community suffers, everyone suffers. Everyone is a caregiver. Doctors, nurses, chaplains, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nursing assistants, food services providers, housekeeping workers, maintenance workers, administration providers, security personnel, and gift shop workers all provide care for patients, loved ones, visitors, community leaders, and each other. 
     So, it’s no wonder that, during a global pandemic, this little community within the community is feeling like the Gulf Coast during hurricane season. The pandemic, like a storm, afflicts indiscriminately. Imagine being both victims and relief workers when you visit the hospital amid the storm and its aftermath. When you feel aggravation about priorities and provisions for the greater good and you want to give someone an earful, remember their weariness; remember their deep empathy and authentic compassion. 
     Consumer-driven societies often define institutional employees by what they deliver to the customer - or, more bluntly stated, they don’t care so much about you as they care about what you do for them. It is hard to find kindness and gratitude in a nation of rugged individualists and social elites. Such people treat others as competition. They resist compromise, grace, and mercy because of what it might cost them. Yet, in the hospital, they look like everyone else when lying in a bed dressed in an immodest gown. 
     Hospital gowns and uniforms help to define roles and responsibilities. The gown reduces patients to our lowest common denominator, naked flesh, tissues and organs that need care and healing. Physicians, nurses, and technicians sometimes act as if that’s all they see, a science project. More often than not, it is a professional detachment that protects them from becoming part of the problem they mean to fix. Healing living creatures is not like repairing machines. Hospitals cannot guarantee customer satisfaction, despite the vast collective knowledge, new treatments, technologies, and drugs. The hospital cannot always give desired outcomes, but they can comfort, encourage, and care. 
     Awe and admiration stirred this departure from my typical blog post. The hospital in my hometown exemplifies the heart of Christianity. Christ gave water to the thirsty, washed dirty feet, treated rich and poor equally, spoke truth in love, was angry with sickness and death. He compassionately healed some and did not save others. He felt pity, grief, and joy with his clients and companions. Jesus encouraged and embraced critical thinking and new ideas. He openly condemned outdated and distorted ideologies. He saw the humanity and sacred soul in everyone he encountered and then gave all he could to save them. 
     This homage to hospital workers is justified not only by the civil services provided by under-recognized neighbors and friends who could earn their living in less demanding ways, but also by the essential Christian nature of their service. They don’t have to proclaim their Christian faith in order to live it. Instead, they identify with Christ on a level that few regular church-attenders experience. Christianity is a lifestyle more than it is a belief system endorsed by its adherents. Hospital workers, first responders, dispatchers, clinics, and a host of other support personnel do not always act like pious churchmen, but they do what Christ does.