Why Burnout Isn’t Faithfulness

August 24, 2025

By Mey Deras | Estimated reading time 5 mins.

I will never forget the time when I was completely exhausted. Yet wholeheartedly convinced that I needed to keep doing everything on my plate. I had a full-time job in the finance world. I served in multiple church ministries. I drove my daughter around for after-school activities. I also kept up with the home. I loved doing it all. I thought I had to do it all.

But eventually, my body started shutting down. Sickness would knock me out, or a wave of sadness would leave me in bed for days. I told no one. I just rebuked the enemy, convinced it was spiritual attack.

Until one of those bed-ridden weeks, I broke. I prayed desperately, asking the Lord to help me understand this cycle. Why was the enemy attacking me this way? Why was I so sad when everything in life was “good”? Why did I feel terrified at the thought of not being needed, not being productive enough, or not doing enough? I told myself it was just a season. Yet, in my heart, I feared that if I stopped doing, I would lose my purpose.

It was then that the Lord began to show me: this wasn’t faithfulness. This was burnout disguised as faithfulness.

What Is Burnout?

Burnout is emotional exhaustion, when you feel drained, depleted, and incapable of coping. It “reduces productivity and saps your energy, leaving you helpless, cynical, and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give.”¹

What Are God-Given Responsibilities?

They are the duties the Lord has entrusted to us. Rooted in His Word: living in His will, reflecting His character, and serving others according to His design. Not according to guilt, fear, or people-pleasing.

When we confuse exhaustion with faithfulness, we call burnout devotion. But God never asked us to steward ourselves that way.

God-Given Responsibilities vs. What I Think I’m Supposed to Do

Sometimes God, in His mercy, allows breakdowns as warning lights. Even when our activities are “good,” we need to ask:

Am I doing this because God assigned it, or because I want to feel needed?
Am I stepping in out of fear that no one else will?
Am I using busyness to avoid deeper issues God wants to heal?
Am I confusing my worth as His daughter with my performance?

3 Ways to identify your God-Given Responsibilities

Check Priorities
Does this fit God’s biblical order? Scripture lays out a framework for how our responsibilities should align:

God first – Matthew 22:37–38; Colossians 3:17
Spouse (if married) – Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:25
Self (body + heart) – 1 Corinthians 6:19–20; Mark 12:31
Children – Ephesians 6:4; 1 Timothy 3:4–5
Work/Church/Community – Colossians 3:23; 1 Peter 4:10

If a responsibility pushes you outside this order, it may be a “good” thing, but not necessarily a God-assigned one.

Ask if You’re Carrying Someone Else’s Role
Savior syndrome whispers, “If I don’t do it, no one will.” Taking on a role that isn’t yours can hinder others. It prevents them from doing what God has called them to do.
Example: A single woman might constantly volunteer for to handle the church lyrics every Sunday. But in doing so, she prevents other team members or ministry leaders from fulfilling their own responsibilities.
Distinguish Concern vs. Responsibility²
We often mistake concerns (things only God can carry) for responsibilities (things we must act on). The “Clarifying Responsibility” diagram by Paul Tripp helps separate the two. Download it HERE as a guide.

A Word of Caution

This doesn’t mean faithfulness equals saying “no” to everything. It’s just as unbiblical to swing to the other extreme and refusing to serve because everything feels overwhelming. Scripture is clear: serving others is central to our calling (Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 4:10). The answer is not comfort or complacency. The call is to say “yes” where God has placed you and “no” to what He has not assigned.

How Burnout Sneaks Into the Soul

Burnout doesn’t shout, it whispers. It looks like guilt when you say “no,” or the lie that you’ll rest once this busy season is over. Left unchecked, it turns our daily activities into resentment and makes us too tired to hear God clearly.

How Healing Begins

Healing starts when we stop numbing and start seeking help. Instead of ignoring our exhaustion, we bring it to the Lord. We ask Him to reorder our priorities and give us courage to let go of what He hasn’t assigned. That’s when our “yes” becomes powerful, because it’s aligned with Him.

But notice this: God rarely calls us to walk the healing process entirely alone. While our relationship with Him is central, He has chosen to use people to build up people.

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

We often need others to help us see what we don’t see. They point us back to truth. They walk alongside us. That’s part of His design for the church. This is why biblical counseling can be such a gift. It’s a tool God uses to give clarity, correction, and encouragement. Sometimes we are too weary to find our way ahead on our own.

Reflection Questions

Fill out the Clarifying Responsibility diagram with one of your current struggles. What do you learn?
Which responsibilities might belong to someone else, or to God?
What’s one way you can say “no” this week, so your “yes” is aligned with Christ?

Faithfulness is not measured by how much you do, but by walking in step with the assignments
God has given you.

Mey Deras | ROOTED Biblical Counseling Services