In one form or another, burnout seems to go hand in hand with leadership; burnout has been around as long as there have been leaders. Here’s an example from about 3,000 years ago from the life of the prophet Elijah.
His words recorded in the Old Testament book of 1 Kings (chapter 19) capture his state of burnout:
He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” (1 Ki 19:4)
I have had enough, Lord… ever heard yourself saying anything like that? Can you relate? Was it enough? Did it get better… or worse? Even though we might not be able to relate directly to Elijah’s specific circumstances, I think we can relate to his state of mind.
“I have had enough, Lord.”
We can learn some important lessons by analyzing what brought Elijah to this point of burnout.
What brought Elijah to this point?
- Opposition
- Exhaustion
- Naivety
- Perfectionism
- Isolation
These were terribly dark days. Four generations had passed since the splendor of Solomon’s kingdom. David’s crown passed to his son Solomon, but from Solomon the kingdom was divided; the kings of Judah and Israel failed to accomplish their prime directive: to lead God’s people in righteousness.
In Elijah’s day, Ahab was king of Israel. Here is how he is introduced in 1 Kings 16:
Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him. (1 Ki 16:29–33)
When God gave His people the Promised Land, he warned them, in no uncertain terms, to keep their devotion to Him, staying away from the religious practices of the other inhabitants. The kings before Ahab erred in mixing in the practices of other religions (syncretism); Ahab move from syncretism to apostasy, leaving Yahweh for Baal and the Asherah poles.
It was a dangerous time to be a prophet of Yahweh… especially one named Elijah (translated: Yahweh is God).
Elijah confronted King Ahab as it is recorded in 1 Kings 17:
Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” (1 Ki 17:1)
It was an age old way for God to get His people’s attention, control over the elements. Elijah pronounced a drought over the kingdom… a long drought that would only be broken at his pronouncement.
The backdrop of Elijah’s burnout was the incredible opposition he faced. There is no doubt that his work was hard work.
Exhaustion
Elijah had been through a lot. After learning lessons about God’s faithfulness, power and provision, Elijah returned to confront Ahab with a showdown. Not merely a showdown between Ahab and Elijah, but a showdown between Baal and Yahweh.
When he [Ahab] saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” (1 Ki 18:17–19)
The account of the showdown is spectacular.
Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention. (1 Ki 18:22–29)
Elijah wasn’t the only one that was exhausted. The truly religious exhaust themselves regardless of the truth of their religion. Their exhaustion didn’t impress their gods, as if there was any god to impress… as if there was anything that could be accomplished with their spectacle.
Then Elijah came to take his turn…
Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
“Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. (1 Ki 18:30–38)
As if it would not have been remarkable enough for God to provide the fire for the sacrifice with just a spark, Elijah made it certain that this was something only Yahweh could have accomplished. With all the water poured on the wood and the sacrifice, no mortal could have quickly produced such an all-consuming fire… a fire so hot and great that it consumed even the water in the trench, as well as stones and soil.
With the contest completed and so convincingly won by God, there were still two practical matters at hand. First the prophets of Baal needed to be dealt with, and their defeat at the altar was sealed with their defeat by the sword at the hand of the people who were so convincingly turned against them. Second, there was the matter of the drought.
Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
“Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
“There is nothing there,” he said.
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”
So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”
Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel. (1 Ki 18:41–46)
A miracle, a battle, another miracle, and a run… Elijah was, of course, exhausted. And it seems that there is no exhaustion as potentially dangerous as exhaustion that comes from overextending ourselves for righteous causes.
Naivety
Elijah must have thought that his great victory was the end of things and everything would have been set right in Israel. He must have thought he had one the war, but it was merely a significant battle in an unending war. He declared “mission accomplished” but the enemy did not agree, had not surrendered, and was still powerful.
It has been noted throughout history that the most dangerous generals are those who rise up more fierce and determined after defeat; conversely Elijah, like most of us, are often most vulnerable after the thrill of victory. Elijah’s burnout came when he was overwhelmed with the realization that the war was not over.
Perfectionism
Elijah revealed his state of mind when he made his complaint to God.
I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” (1 Ki 19:4).
Elijah had determined that he was a failure; it probably started by thinking he was some sort of success at Mount Carmel. Maybe it wasn’t so much perfectionism as it was pride and self-reliance. Elijah wasn’t evaluating things on what God was doing through Elijah; Elijah was focused on his performance and comparing his success (and failure) to other people (his ancestors).
He took credit for the plan that he so successfully executed on Mount Carmel, and now that there was still opposition he wanted the penalty for the failure.
Isolation
Elijah repeatedly made the mistake of separateness. On Mount Carmel he proudly declared that he alone was left to stand up for God, forgetting about Obadiah and the hundred prophets he had hidden away in caves. Later God would reveal that there were thousands who had not bent their knee to Baal.
Willful independence is a common ingredient in burnout. We determine to go it alone as we chase success, and we are left to spiral down alone with nobody around to help catch us and lift us up.
Elijah determined that his cause was futile… and now alone in the wilderness there was nobody around to point out his error and talk him out of his lowly state.
I’m glad that this isn’t the end of the story; I’m glad that Elijah was proven wrong. God had an answer. God had a remedy.
Tomorrow I’ll post the remedy God provided for move Elijah out of his burnout. (If you just can't wait, check out my talk from Pleasant Bay by clicking here)
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Great post! Thanks for sharing! :)
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