Burned Out? Trusting God with Your To-Do List

CCEF Minibooks

by Winston T. Smith

"Originally published in 2006 as 'Rest'."

Often, in our busy world, our lives feel like one long ""to-do"" list. It's easy to get so busy that we don't even notice how exhausted and anxious we are. Do you find yourself saying yes to activities you don't have time for? Have you ever said, ""If I don't do it, who will?"" An overloaded schedule and an inability to rest are signs of approaching ""burnout.""Instead of giving you organizational tips (and thus more to do!), Winston T. Smith helps you to look at what drives your busyness and points you to the rest and peace that comes from a deeper trust in God.

24 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 1905

About the author

Winston T. Smith (MDiv, Westminster Theological Seminary) is the rector at Saint Anne's Church in Abington, Pennsylvania. He is the author of Marriage Matters.

Reviews

[Allison Bowsher · Rating 5 out of 5]

- God effortlessly creates and orders all things to be beautiful reflections of his glory and power. His day of rest is a demonstration of his absolute mastery and the happy obedience of his creation. God's rest isn't a picture of tiredness, but a display of his absolute sovereignty.

-God's command to rest forces us to acknowledge that God isn't just in perfect control of his world, but ours as well. Resting means acknowledging that our world really belongs to him and we must entrust our well-being into his hands. If you rest for a day, will God keep your life from falling apart?"... Resting should be a way of living out the truth that our world belongs to God. We must trust that he is in loving control of it.

-Our fear and anxiety can reveal that in many ways we are functional atheist. We believe God exist, but in everyday life we live as if he were God, the only one controlling his world... under pressure we don't consider to ask God for help or consider what his purposes may be. We turn to ourselves and try to tough it out and hope things get better.

-We live as if God is a task master, adding to our pile of responsibilities.

-If I don't do it, who will? a prideful claim of self-sufficiency and lament that God had placed too much on our shoulders.

-Decisions based on love are about the welfare of the other person, not what they will think of you. Serving others in hopes that they will like you is manipulation, not love, and it really can harm others...it can keep others from recognizing and using their own abilities. We handicap the people we tried to love by aiming to earn their respect and approval, rather than their maturity to depend on God rather than ourself.

-We will do anything we can to prove that we are making a contribution, that we are good, that we don't deserve God's disapproval. Like and Adam and Eve, we have hide from our deep sense of inadequacy. How much of our busyness is really an effort to prove our worth and escape the sense that there is something very wrong with us?

-God wants us to find our rest in him, not in our own proud efforts. He won't allow us to successfully cover ourselves. He faithfully and lovingly steers us away from trusting in our own efforts so that we can find true rest in the work he has done... The problem of being morally corrupt and sinful can't be solved by working harder. Christ does the work that fixes who we really are.

-Become a devoted admirer of Christ, Repent of the pride, Don't get in Jesus' way, Be a student of your own heart

-Let your work and rest be acts of faith and worship

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This booklet is about rest and the Sabbath. Great reminders on the purpose of rest, and how it points to God being our sovereign deliverer. To rest is to exercise our faith in Him, and to serve Him, not ourselves.

[Lexi Zuo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super super short booklet about ceasing sinful striving and beginning resting in God.

[Kristopher Schaal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. An entire mini book on the concept of Sabbath.