Battling Burnout

Welcome back to the show, everyone.

Today is Thursday, January the 5th. I'm Ryan Hill. I'm John Glantis. And you're listening to Clear View Today with Dr. Abbadon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can find us online at ClearViewTodayShow.com. Or if you have any questions for Dr. Shah or suggestions for future episodes, send us a text at 252-582-5028. You can also email us at contact at ClearViewTodayShow.com.

That's right. And you guys can help us keep the conversation going by supporting the podcast, sharing it online, leaving us a good review on iTunes, Spotify, Audible, believe it or not, Amazon Music, anywhere that podcasts are consumed. You guys can leave us a good review.

And we're going to leave you a link in the description of this podcast so that you can do that. We want to set you guys up for success. We'll give you a little softball loss, right? No disrespect to softball players because they're pretty tough. Yeah, I've seen softball pitchers throw pitches that I was like, oh my good.

It genuinely looks harder to hit than a baseball pitch. Yeah. You want to hit them with the verse of the day? I would love to. Today's verse of the day comes from Psalm 62 verse 7.

Trust in the Lord forever, for in Yahweh the Lord is everlasting strength. Every year we go on a staff retreat. Dr. Shah takes the staff to, you know, just someplace where we can kind of get away, plan out what the year is going to look like, just be together. And last year we went to Colorado and that was the first time I'd ever seen mountains, like snowy mountains for real. Like here in North Carolina, we've seen like the, not the rocky, but what are the, um, the, the smoky mountains and there's not snow on them really.

They're just kind of green. But that was the first time I'd ever seen humongous mountains up close with snow on them. And I remember just feeling super small. I remember feeling just tiny, tiny and knowing that those mountains had been there so much longer than me and they'll be there like for years and centuries and millennia after I'm gone. And I remember talking to your kids and just playing around with them and just being like, do you guys know who made those mountains? And they were like, God, God made those.

And I was like, yeah. But then like, as we were driving past them, I was like, God made those. God has been here so much longer than me. God is so much bigger than me. And it kind of breathes new life into that trust in the Lord forever because he's everlasting strength. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, those mountains are a symbol of strength, of stability, of security, and God is the only source of security and stability that we have. Amen. He is the foundation.

There is none other. Amen. This one was sent in, you know, can I take this one for this today? So this is a... I got it on my phone. Do you want me to pull it up or you got it?

No, I got it. Okay, cool. So this was a suggestion for an opening segment that was sent in from Mike from North Carolina. Mike's been listening for a while. Thank you, Mike. So I really appreciate that, Mike.

Okay. Mike asks, if you could combine the best attributes of any two animals or insects to create the most dangerous new top of the food chain, what would they be? Mike, I like being at the top of the food chain, but why would I do that? Two attributes of any two animals or insects? I would say body of a gorilla because they are absolutely yoked out of, like, beyond belief.

Gorillas are very strong. And a shark head to breathe underwater. Okay. So I would say that monstrosity lives underwater.

It can't hurt me. It can't hunt me. And it's just absolutely jacked.

Okay. A gorilla with a shark head, I would say. That's a shark-rilla.

A shark-rilla. That's what I would create. That sounds like a C-list movie from the sci-fi channel. Yeah, it sounds like someone, like, tried to play God Jurassic Park style and just didn't have the funding that John Hammond had. You know what it reminds me of? You ever see those books that are like three layers and you flip them and it's a different head and a different midsection and a different bottom and you can mix and match the book? Oh, yeah, yeah. That's what it reminds me of. Shark head, gorilla body. Someone thought of the very first idea and was like, I'm committed to this. And the board of directors was like, should we keep brainstorming? I like this. We'll go with this.

What would you do? I think I would pick the body, like the physical structure and intellect of an octopus. Because, number one, breathing underwater.

Most of the world is water, so I feel like that would give an advantage. Plus, an octopus is an invertebrate that can fit in tiny places. Right, right. And they're unbelievably intelligent. Very, very smart.

But the intelligence is in their body. True. Okay. I'm with you. I'm with you. Let me adjust that then. Alright.

I would pick the body of an octopus. Okay. Okay.

Camouflage. Sure. Breathing underwater. The functions of an octopus.

Okay. The intellect. Obviously, I was going to say octopus, but now I mess up. Why don't you do the intellect of a... Yeah, I mean, you're just creating an octopus. I wouldn't just do double octopus. I would say the sturdiness, the durability of a tardigrade. Okay. Okay.

I was going to say, I feel like you just want an octopus. A tardigrade, they can live... They can survive in the vacuum of space. Right. They can survive sub-zero temperatures.

They're notoriously durable. But they look and function like octopuses. So you want... I want an indestructible octopus. You want a super octopus. Yes, I want a super octopus. Do you want it to shoot laser beams out of its eyes? Ideally, yes, but I'll just settle for the octopus. I'm saying since you're not combining two animals, I would say they can have laser eyes. I think that's probably fine.

Sounds good. So, shark-rilla... Indestructible octopus with laser eyes. Okay.

Indestructible octopus with laser eyes and shark-rilla. It's fun that we both went ocean themed, though. Yeah. Well, I mean, I think we had similar thoughts.

Like, the water comprises most of the world. That, and I just don't want to run into this thing. We've got a great topic planned for you guys today. We're still in this New Year's week as we're heading into January, beginning the new year. We've been hearing from a lot of people who have said that it's difficult to, you know, get started because they feel like the past two years have just left them completely burned out.

Yep. Really, I guess the past three years at this point, 2020 to 2022. Yeah, I mean, it's been crazy. This has been like nothing we've ever seen, and it's taking its toll on people, and I think it's taken a while for people to realize that it's taken the toll.

Absolutely. We're hearing more and more about that. We're going to talk about that today, how to kind of move forward into 2023 and not be bound up by the past.

If you have any questions or suggestions for new topics, send us a text at 252-582-5028, or visit us online at ClearviewTodayShow.com. We'll be back after this. Hey there, listeners. My name is Jon.

And I'm David. And we just want to take a second and talk to you about Dr. Sean Nicole's new book, 30 Days to a New Beginning, Daily Devotionals to Help You Move Forward. No matter who you are or where you are in life, you're going to get stuck.

You're going to have goals that you just can't seem to reach, and you're going to be looking for some new way to start over. Unfortunately, life does not have a restart button. But here's the good news. God's mercy is new every day, right? And so that means every day is a new chance for you to start over. Now, Dr. Sean and his wife Nicole have written a new 30-day devotional in their 30-day series designed to give you practical tools for starting over. No matter where you are in life's journey or what pitfalls you've encountered, this devotional is going to help you move forward, refocus your mind on God's truth, and meditate on his word. And you guys can pick up a copy right this second on Amazon.com.

Unless you're driving. Yeah, don't shop and drive unless you're driving, in which case, wait till you get home. But we're going to leave a link for you right here in the description of this podcast, so it'll be waiting for you when you get home. That's 30 Days to a New Beginning, Daily Devotionals to Help You Move Forward. And for the remainder of November and all through December, we'll be sending a free copy to anyone who supports the podcast by visiting us online and donating to the show at ClearViewTodayShow.com.

That is a very, very good incentive, gang. That's 30 Days to a New Beginning, Daily Devotions to Help You Move Forward by Abaddon and Nicole Shaw. Thank you guys so much for listening. David, you want to jump back into the show? Let's go.

All right. Welcome back to Clear View Today with Dr. Abaddon Shaw. The daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can find us online at ClearViewTodayShow.com.

Or if you have any questions or suggestions for future episodes, send us a text at 252-582-5028. Dr. Shaw, how are you this Thursday? I'm doing very well. Hope you guys are doing well. Amen. Very well.

Very well. Hope you guys out there watching in viewer land or listening in listener land are doing well. If you guys are joining us for the first time, never seen the show before, never listened. Unfamiliar with Dr. Shaw's work, Dr. Abaddon Shaw has a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and the host of today's episode.

You can follow him on his website, AbaddonShaw.com. I was enjoying the listening in listener land or watching in viewer land. They used to say that on TV land, like all you viewers out there in viewer land or something like that. Really? Yeah.

I remember TV land, they used to show all them old black and white shows. I bet you're just going to continue if you're enjoying snacks in candy land. I'm in molasses junction and I can't get out.

Oh, no. I've lost a turn, unfortunately. As we're headed further into the new year, a lot of people we've been hearing from are saying that it's hard to even get started. We're one weekend, but there are some people who still feel like they're in that mode of, I know where I want to go or have an idea where I want to go, but I'm just spinning my wheels. I feel like I'm stuck, especially as a result of all the craziness over the past couple years.

Dr. Jha, we've been hearing more about this. I know you've heard from a lot of people on this. What are your thoughts on how people can... Yeah, absolutely. When you know that God is calling you to step out, there are so many obstacles in your path.

You worry about this, you worry about that. You are unsure about having the faith or the confidence to step forward. You see all the obstacles and it seems like, ah, there's no way I can do this. With God's help, you will move forward. God will smooth out the obstacles and He may leave some there so that you can trust in Him, you can rely on Him to help you live every single day and move forward. We've kind of been joking about it a little bit, but I do want to say, in all seriousness, this devotion that Dr. Jha and his wife Nicole have written has truly helped me. I just finished it this past week and it has really transformed the way that I view starting over and starting with a new beginning, because we all have those times in our lives where we feel like we might be just tired, we might be burned out or whatever, and we just want a fresh start, but a new beginning that God is with you on is something that all of you deserve, and I think this book will really help you guys out. Yeah, absolutely.

I could not agree more. I love what you said there, that there are obstacles in our lives, and sometimes God will leave the obstacles there to teach us to rely on Him, to keep us reliant, keep us humble, and keep us trusting in His strength for us. That fire that you're afraid of could be the very fire that will give you the passion to go forward. So don't lose heart. And that's something that I think we do as Christians, is we chase after feeling. We chase after passion and emotion, and when it's not there, we take it as a sign that something's wrong. Do you think it is necessarily there's something wrong when we don't feel that passion? No, I think it's part of the ebb and flow of life, the ups and downs, where some days it gets overwhelming, some days it's difficult, and you just don't have that booster that you need, that turbo that you need to go forward.

But that's okay. Many days are simply trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. But then there are days that you feel more passionate because you're seeing things happen, and great to have those days too. There was an illustration you gave in a sermon a while ago where your life is like a carbon paper, where you have that outer sheet that you write on, and then there's an impression on the lower sheet, and your life is like that lower sheet, but the top sheet is like God's plan. And there are some times where you get that glimpse of the top sheet, but most of the time you don't. Most of the time you're just kind of operating in that copy paper, where you see some impressions, but you don't get the clear writing.

That picture was hugely helpful. I think you even said it earlier this week that the lost world just tends to cope with life. That's all they can do. And I think as Christians a lot of times we fall in that trap where I'm just going to try to cope with it, and I'm just going to try to see it through to the end, and then this trial that I'm going through in life really serves no greater function than just to get me through it. But that's not how God has designed our lives to be. God is using that trial to work all things together for good, and trials will always be there.

You just have to trust God's perfect plan. Well, I was going to say, we're talking about this concept of, you mentioned that fire within us that we feel like we've been burned by, but could it be that it's the passion that's going to ignite us and move us forward? Do we see any examples of that from scripture, of people who have like, these are some situations that have come against me, now this is what's actually pushing me forward in obedience?

Right. I mean, there are plenty of examples, starting with Abraham and Sarah, of course looking at Joseph in Egypt, going through some very difficult times, and then of course Moses, and just go down the list. But even more specifically, an actual fire would be from the book of Daniel, where you have these three Hebrew young men, who were really Jewish, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. Their names were Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, who were thrown into a fiery furnace because they refused to bow before Nebuchadnezzar, the big statue. If anybody felt burned, I would say it would be them. Ryan, come on, man.

Really? When you talk about being burned, or burned out, or being on fire, there are three very different things. So, to be burned means to be badly disappointed, or let down by someone you trusted. Being burned out means to be mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. But to be on fire means to be passionate and excited about something. There are three different things. As a pastor, I often hear about people either getting burned, or getting burned out. But I want to see people on fire.

Three very different things. And I think that's something you mentioned earlier, is that I think a lot of times, we mistake burnout for just being, I'm tired, or I don't feel passionate right now. And things are going on in my life that maybe have me distracted, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you're burned out.

You know what I mean? When you put a label on it like, burned out, it makes it seem like it's beyond hope. If something is burned out, or if we use the language that we use, if it's burned up, there's no restoring it. If you have a piece of furniture that's caught in a house fire, and it's burnt to ashes, there's no coming back from that.

If I've got a match, and I light it, and it burns out, I can't relight that match. So, I feel like that language is almost misleading in a way, because it does imply that I'm just done. I'm done with ministry. I'm done with Christianity.

I'm done because I'm burned out, and there's no way to get that fire going again. Right. I feel like in the place we're living now, in the day and age that we're living, it's very in vogue to hear about church hurt and people walking away, kind of constructing their faith.

These are all buzzwords that are circulating in the air. What are your thoughts on that, Dr. Shah? How do we respond to that? Well, we have become softer through the years, through the decades, especially those in ministry. I understand the struggles they have, because I'm in ministry and I have the same struggles, and it's not fun to go through those struggles. But, if your eyes are on Christ, and you understand how life works, and how you will have those days, you'll have those tough days, and those tough days are not meant to just demoralize you. They are God's opportunity to pour grace upon you.

Those are the times you learn the most. Somebody called them the privations of life, where you feel like you don't have certain things, or you wish you had those things. But privations are God's way of teaching you, when you don't have what you're looking for right there. Deprivation or deprivation is where you had something and got taken away. I had no clue that's what deprived meant. Deprivation and deprivation.

Deprivation is you had it and got taken away, so now you've been deprived. So, either way, when people in ministry go through that, they struggle with their calling, they struggle with their commitment, they struggle with the passion they had, and they just feel like they're throwing in the towel. It's very unfortunate, because the enemy loves that.

He loves to see another soldier walking off the field. And with our propensity to be the victim, and with our love to be hurt and abused by an institution or someone else who's in power, it's hard to gauge how much of this is this person actually hurt me and did me wrong versus I had unrealistic expectations of what this person could actually deliver. Or what their role in my life was supposed to be. And that's where we're talking about being burned, because when you have the human beings who disappoint you, especially those who are closest to you, you feel like, I just got burned. I'm so disappointed.

I'm so hurt. But you'll never get burned if you have hope in God. And you understand the sinfulness of human beings, and this is how they are. This is what they do. And still show mercy to them, still show kindness to them, but you keep moving forward.

I love the illustration of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and Daniel, of course, being in Babylon, because being in exile, away from your land, away from your home, I can completely understand. And yet at the same time, they chose to be on fire. It wasn't just that God gave them this magic inspiration.

They just meant it harder. They just willed it. They made a conscious choice to be obedient. Stay pure in the midst of a very promiscuous land.

And they wouldn't even eat off the king's table, because they felt like that would be compromising the truth. So my challenge to people is, if you're in that position with the ministry or not, and people have burned you, just recognize that that is human nature. People will disappoint you. They will say and do things that you will hurt, it will be very painful, but keep your eyes on God.

He won't disappoint you. And show compassion. Show mercy. Burned out is where you're doing things, but you're doing it for the wrong purpose.

So ask yourself that question, who are you doing it for? Same with Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. Why were they doing what they were doing? They were remaining pure because that's who God wanted them to be. And so they did everything unto God, not unto self or people back home or the king in Babylon. No, they did it unto God.

And that kept them from being burned out. And of course, they were on fire. Literally, they were on fire because, man, they go into this fiery furnace and Nebuchadnezzar looks over to one of his people and says, who is that fourth one who looks like the son of man, or really like angel? And I believe that was the pre-incarnate Christ with them. Maybe that's an angel, I don't know. I would say a pre-incarnate Christ.

That is a powerful image. Not only just God walking with them in the fiery furnace and just being with them and protecting them, but even for us, Christ protects us from getting burned. He protects us from getting burned out if we just remain in him.

One of my favorite parts about that account is right before Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego are thrown into the fiery furnace, they're talking to King Nebuchadnezzar, and he's telling them, this is the decree, disobey me, I'm going to throw you in here. And they tell him, hey, our God is able to rescue us. Our God is able to deliver us from this.

But even if he doesn't, we're still not going to bow down. We're still not going to go back on what we believe is right and our reverence to our God. And I love that even in the midst of that difficulty and that intense trial, where literally their lives are on the line, they don't lose sight of the mission.

They don't lose sight of what God has called them to do. That's right. That's right. Yeah, and think about it.

Many of us would have said, let's just go along with it. You live another day. You live to fight another day. You live to fight another day.

But instead they chose to stand up. And especially in our world today, standing up for our convictions are becoming less and less, because people are rather like, you know what, I'm just going to focus on the main thing and not worry about that. I'm not going to attack anybody. I'm not going to be, you know, getting distracted.

But all that is done with the guise of, I'm going to play it safe. But if you think about for a moment, if Shadrach, Meshach, Abed, and Nago had done that, we would have never heard of those men. We would have never heard of the Book of Daniel. Furthermore, how many countless people have been blessed by the example said by these three young men? How many people have stood up in the midst of the trials, in the midst of temptation, in the midst of persecution?

If those three Hebrew young men had not done that, imagine what this world would be like. I speak from a place of humanity here, just because I know this is how I am, and I know this is how a lot of people are, is that when things really get real, we tend to put God aside. We keep that sense of spirituality, and it's like, listen, I'm just living to fight another day. God knows my heart, and at the end of the day, He's put me here for a reason, and He knows me.

The truth is, I'm not really thinking that way. This is just easy, and I can always come back for forgiveness. I can always come back and ask God to forgive me, but right now, I need to focus on what's real, what's right in front of me. And this is the easiest way out, and then once it's over, once it's passed, I'll come back, and I know that God will still be there.

But God will always remember that I didn't stand up for Him, and I'll always remember Him. Right, and I would say that is going to be the new norm moving forward, where men and women of God, boys and girls, males and females, no matter who you are, where you come from, if you believe in Jesus Christ and His word, that you will have to stand. We're going into that time period where we have to stand. I know there was a time period where, man, these people are standing for all these things, and they just make us all look bad.

They're always trying to be against the world. Aren't we done with that? Can we not just tell the world about the grace of God through Jesus Christ?

I'm here to tell you, that day is gone. Now the day is coming of the exile, and in exile, you have to stand. You may not want to stand when you're not in exile and feel like, yeah, let's just show grace.

Let's not argue over those things. Let's not purposely have to stand and make our voices heard. But now you're in exile. In exile, God's people have to stand. If you don't, it's a matter of time before it's just the king's table down to your own altar.

It's a very short jump from don't eat the fruit, or you can eat the food offered to the idols, to now offer yourself to the idols. I was just going to say, it's one of those weird things where... I lost what I was going to say. It made me think of an article that you wrote a while ago, and there's a line in there.

You talked about Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego in this article. There's a sentence in there that's etched in my mind. It says, we can withstand any fire down below if we are on fire from up above. What an encouragement. I hope that those of you who are listening, those of you who are watching, I hope it caused you to take a step back and examine your priorities.

Examine where you're devoting the most amount of your time, your resources, your affection. What has the most amount of your mental capacity and spiritual devotion? Because if it's not God, it's an idol. Right. That's true.

That's very true. I want to read for our listeners 1 Peter 1, verse 6-7, In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So if you're going through some difficult time right now, don't lose heart. Don't get burned. People will disappoint you.

That's okay. Don't get burned out. Make sure you're doing things for the right reasons and not just for earthly reasons. But be on fire, which means here in our context, so that the genuineness of your faith, which is much more precious than gold, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So get on fire, people.

That's right. What a great word at the beginning of 2023. If you guys enjoyed today's topic or you have suggestions for future topics, send us a text at 252-582-5028. You can also visit us online at ClearviewTodayShow.com, and you can support us financially at that same website. We are grateful for all of our giving partners. We want to thank you, especially as we're starting this new year. We're grateful for you and the impact that you're having through this show. This is a shared impact. It's not just something that we're doing. It's not just something that you're supporting, but it's an impact that we have together to reach as many people as possible with the help of the gospel.

That's right. We don't call you guys partners to make you feel good. We call you partners because you are working with us.

You are putting the message of Jesus Christ out there with the tools and the resources that he's given you. And that's obedience. Absolutely.

We love that. So this question to end on, Dr. Shaw, comes as a question for you from Patrick L. He wants to know, who is your all-time favorite biblical scholar? Oh my goodness. There's a lot of them. There are those from the yesteryears and those who are present.

I would say one of my heroes is my own mentor, my professor, Dr. Maurice Robinson. He's a text critic. He's the one who put together the Byzantine text form and just an amazing guy. If you wonder what that looks like, I mean, that's the text behind the New King James and also, although it's coming from Hodges and Farstad, but he also put together the Byzantine text and I believe has a much more solid basis for his text than anybody else in that Byzantine category.

Wow. But also his life, his example has been amazing. He's given away that text for free.

If you go online and you find a Greek text, it's more than likely his text that you're using for free. So I really respect him. There are other scholars that I have through the years that I really enjoyed reading their stuff. Of course, if you go way, way back, you have Martin Luther, Charles Wesley, John Wesley really. I like reading some of his sermons. Charles Spurgeon, of course, love his stuff.

If you get to really deep theologians, I mean, good grief. I mean, I love D.A. Carson's work. You know, good stuff out there. So yeah, one day we're going to do a whole survey of them. That would be awesome. I'm looking forward to that one. We love you guys. We'll see you tomorrow on Clearview Today.