The Exhaustion Gridlock

 And The Christ-Centered Cure.

By Pastor Vinnie 

Are you dealing with exhaustion, fatigue, and burned out? You are not alone. America is killing itself with an overactive work ethic and a hunger for success without lifestyle boundaries.

The Depth Of the Problem

We live in a world that never stops. We rarely rest, and our health, families, and happiness are paying the cost. This is a 24/7 world now. Stores are open all night, the internet, streaming services, TV, and the light bulb stand ready to burn at all hours of the night without any level of discrimination for the hour they are engaged at. Worse yet, the expectations of employers, schools, and even families;  sometimes get so high that we feel we have to sacrifice our own rest, relaxation, and sleep, just to cover the basics of life!

Forbes magazine reports that over 70 million Americans are sleep deprived and the cost is racking up by contributing to the following list of diseases; “depression, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s…drowsy driving causes 1,550 deaths and 40,000 injuries annually in the United States.”[i]

And not only should Health and Safety officials be taking notice your employer should be too! The cost of lack of sleep breeds massive financial loss in the work sector. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the combined economic costs of lack of sleep is costing employers up to 411 billion dollars a year, in health costs, and additionally reducing productivity by as much as 40% in most critical employment positions.[ii] More alerting yet, we the employees, seem to be doing it to ourselves, with well over half of Americans refusing to take all the paid leave and vacation times employers are obligated to give them. CNBC recently found 54% of American workers will not take the most of the time, employers are willingly giving employees, and as high as 4% literally refuse to take any at all![iii] 

Facing The Problem

I get it. It is not always that we can’t take time off, it is that we don’t believe we can take time off and there is a slight difference in those two things. I often hear people say, “If I take time off, there will just be twice as much work for me when I return!”  While I agree with that, I recently pointed out in one of my sermons, that there will always be too much work to get done to achieve all that is expected of us; therefore the solution is not to work more because it will never be enough! Rather we have to accept it is impossible to do it all, and killing yourself will not make you more productive, but end your production all together!

If you think you can’t afford a day off, and that you can barely keep up with the rising cost of prices now, ask yourself this; how much does a heart attack cost? What would be the medical expenses of cancer, or a stroke? Who’d provide for your family, mortgage, or responsibilities, if you fall asleep at the wheel after pulling a double shift to be a better provider?

What good is it to provide every little material want of our families if we never spend any time with them or have any relationship with them. An academically controlled study that spanned three decades showed that parents over working in the evening, on weekends, and holidays, are significantly impacting their children in vitally negative ways! It correlated the lack of time spent with children with spikes in children having more behavioral problems, more mediocre cognitive ability, lower grades, being overweight and obese in childhood[iv]. Business Insider recently published a list of red flags warning to “workaholics” that their marriages may be in trouble.[v]

“What if I catch the American dream, and end up missing the Kingdom of Heaven?”

We need rest, relaxation, family time, and time with God. And the longer we ignore this truth, the more we dig into deep-rooted denial. Is one more job promotion worth it, if you lose the love and respect of your family? Do you need a bigger house that bad? What good is sending your child to a top tier college, if you never build a life with them, or even had the time to teach them what they are worth to you? Don’t expect them to see all you’ve provided and just assume your love. Nope, expect them to feel jilted and deprived by you!

What if I catch the American dream, and end up missing the Kingdom of Heaven? Is it really worth more to me than my eternal relationships? You can tell, by looking at which you spend more time building, whom you really love most. The words of Jesus, stand true and speak to us all today, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”[vi]

It is time for Christians to accept Jesus Christ is calling us to higher ground!

The Solution To The Problem.

The promise of Christ to the born-again Christian is not just life! His promise is a much better life, or as often translated, “An Abundant Life[vii],” the NLT states that promise this way, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”[viii] Are you feeling it? Are you living that promised superabundant, productive, and satisfying life?

If not consider these words from Jesus:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”[ix]

The Book of Hebrews, in the New Testament, tells us where this rest comes from and why it is essential:

• Hebrews 4v1 The Rest is needed — “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.”[x]

• Hebrews 4v2 Let’s not disobey it like our forefathers — “For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.”[xi]

• Hebrews 4v3-4 This rest was always there since the creation week — “And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”[xii]

• Hebrews 4v6 Let us enter God’s rest and not disobey and miss the blessing– “Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience”[xiii]

• Hebrews 4v7 Today, God calls you, to return to his rest — “God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”[xiv]

It is interesting that this New Testament idea of Rest connects with the Sabbath, which means to “to cease, to end, to rest.” This idea is first found in Genesis at the end of the creation week and as a Bible-believing creationist it has always fascinated me:

“By the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day, he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” (Genesis 2:2)[xv]

Among the first things God, through Moses, did when he brought Israel out of the bondage of slavery of Egypt was to reinstate the Sabbath. Why? The answer to forced slavery is the freedom to choose to rest! The Ten Commandments calls upon Israel to “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”[xvi]

I don’t believe anyone one is ever made Holy by keeping the law of God or the Commandments of God. God’s laws are to bless us not save us. My firm conviction is Salvation is a gift, never earned by merit or good works, but extended to Mankind because of the Grace of God, and the fulfillment of atonement found in Jesus, alone, because of the Cross. We rest in Jesus, for all Salvation needs. The Sabbath, however, is a rest parallel to our rest in Jesus, that God gives humanity as a free will gift that keeps us connected to Him, each other, and our families.

“I tend to, at times, skip taking those vacation too, but I never miss a day I have dedicated to God. I love and value the time to re-connect with my family, my God, and my church.”

I keep the weekly Sabbath because I am wearied and burdened, and seeking out a “refresh” with Jesus at the end of my week. After six days of toil, I find truth in the need to resync and re-yoke-up with Him. Mostly, I practice this weekly rest with God because I am too strong-willed, stubborn, or self-interested, to rest enough at other times when I should be. Yep, I tend to, at times, skip taking those vacation too, but I never miss a day I have dedicated to God. I love and value the time to re-connect with my family, my God, and my church. I love the worship, the music, the food, and the relaxation a weekly date with Jesus gives me.

Sure, I live a spiritual life every day with him. I pray, and I read and study my Bible, and I dedicate my life anew to Him every morning. Yet, there is something therapeutic, something reenergizing, and something continual, in dedicating off 24-hours when I will not let work, Netflix, or the pursuit of any my natural energy consuming activities sap me; and I will just “Sabbath” -Stop, halt, end, and rest. I will worship, eat, sleep, rest, put time into all my relationships, and prepare for the week that is set before me in a manner in which I am charged up, anew, to walk boldly into it with Jesus.

You don’t need to be a “Sabbath-Keeper” to need rest. We all need rest. America is killing itself with lack of rest! If your life is stressed out, if your family relationship is and stretched to the max, if you are just plain tired out and spent at that end of the week, try “Sabbathing”[xvii] just try setting apart of full Sabbath to rest up in Jesus. To put an end to your week. To find a place to stop, before you re-start all over again in the new week.

Stopping means there is a start and a finish to my week. I don’t just pile on and work through my weekend because the week does have an end! I see that end. I rest with the Omega so that I can then restart with my Alpha.[xviii] My weeks don’t roll on like hills, they stop and start with “Resting In Jesus,” as the bridge that spans them both.

Set your 24-hour date with Jesus now! And watch how He re-powers your life! Get charged up! Let Jesus “Sabbath you up,” for the week ahead of you! Don’t be tired and dragging all week long…Be “Sabbathed!”

“And he said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. Mark 6:31[xix]

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Footnotes:

[i] https://www.forbes.com”/sites/neilhowe/2017/08/18/america-the-sleep-deprived/#7190112a1a38

[ii] https://www.sfmic.com/sleep-deprived-workers-research-2/

[iii] https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/only-28percent-of-americans-plan-to-max-out-their-vacation-days-this-year.html

[iv] https://phys.org/news/2013-12-parents-hours-affect-children.html

[v] https://www.businessinsider.com/signs-your-job-is-ruining-your-marriage-2016-3

[vi] Mark 8:36 English Standard Version (ESV)

[vii] The most common translation phraseology for περισσός (perissos) literally superior, extraordinary, or most clearly superabundant.

[viii] John 10:10 New Living Translation (NTL)

[ix] Matthew 11:28-30 New International Version (NIV)

[x] Hebrews 4:1 New International Version (NIV)

[xi] Hebrews 4:2 New International Version (NIV)

[xii] Hebrews 4:3b-4 New International Version (NIV)

[xiii] Hebrews 4:6 New International Version (NIV)

[xiv] Hebrews 4:7 New International Version (NIV)

[xv] Genesis 2:2 New International Version (NIV)

[xvi] Exodus 20:8 New International Version (NIV)

[xvii] I know that is not an actual word but it is a slang expression in some faith communities for keeping a weekly Sabbath.

[xviii] Alpha and Omega is the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet and a title the Book o Revelation uses for both Jesus and his Father.  Revelation 1:8, 1:17-18, 21:6, 22:13

[xix] Mark 6:31English Standard Version (ESV)