AVOID BURNOUT

AVOID BURNOUT

Text: Matthew 25:1-13

The Bible in the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes spoke at length about the essence of wisdom. In Ecclesiastes 10:10b, the Bible says "Wisdom is profitable to direct."

What does it mean to burnout?

Burnout, in simple term means being exhausted; being used up or to run out of content. in Biblical term, burnout can mean loosing relevance or getting blunt. it could also mean being short of power.

There could be several reasons for burnout. let's take this scenario: The book of 2 Timothy 2:20-22 talks about how a great is full of several types of vessels; and of course we know that vessels are used for holding certain contents, and once the content in a vessel gets exhausted or finished, we say there is a burnout.

The major way to avoid burnout is by giving wisdom its place. Going by our Bible text, we'll find out that what separated the virgins into two groups was wisdom. The Bible said: Five were wise, and the other five were foolish. Wisdom will make you know that you can stay relevant for ever if you avoid burnout. but if you don't avoid burnout, you'll only become an ex-champion.

The wisdom to avoid burnout is in the act of you taking extra oil with you as you go. Not that you should go about with several bottles or jars of anointing oil; but simply strike a life partnership with the Giver of oil - The Holy Spirit.

One of the way He helps us is that He helps prevent friction by constantly oiling our engines. He helps prevent burnout by reigniting our lamps continually. He helps prevent emptiness by refilling us over and over again. He prevents spiritual dryness by re-anointing us from time to time.

The infilling of the Holy Spirit is not one-off; it requires renewal. Just as you fuel your car before/after every use so do believers need to be refilled time and again. Even the Apostles of old did not just bank on the Upper Room outpour (Acts 2:1-7). The Bible recorded it that they kept coming together to be refilled, just like in Acts 4:31.

Dearly beloved, do you still want to be a force to be reckoned with? Then avoid burnout! Take the Holy Spirit with you. He'll give you the extra oil as the need arises.