3 Ways Giving Thanks Helps Combat Ministry Burnout

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, giving thanks is not reserved only for this holiday, but it is important that we give thanks to God for our abundant blessings daily and throughout the year. When I’m feeling overwhelmed from ministry and family responsibilities, giving thanks gives me peace, shifts my perspective, and reminds me that God is with me. Giving thanks to God is an act of worship and quickly reminds me that God is in control and I can surrender the anxieties and burdens that I’m carrying. Here are three ways you can give thanks to help combat ministry burnout:

1. Write Down Your Blessings

Take some time to write down and give thanks for all the blessings that you have and thank God for the many ways that God has kept, strengthened, and sustained you and your family. When we write things down, it helps us to visualize God’s faithfulness and helps to shift our perspective to what really matters. When you experience seasons of ministry burnout, pause and write down your blessings. Keep your list close by and look at it for encouragement during difficult seasons. God’s track record is strategic and consistent. Give thanks for your blessings!

2. Find One Thing

When you feel overwhelmed, find one thing or component that is positive with the situation. When we choose to focus on the positive in a challenging situation, our spirits are lifted and we tend to not complain as much. If we are distant from family this year, thank God for the gift of technology or the ability to pick up the phone and call.

Find your one thing that accentuates the positive and helps to minimize your overwhelm. Give God praise for the lesson God is teaching you or the ways in which God is moving through you. What is the one thing you will choose to give God thanks for, in spite of what it looks like?

3. Share Your Gratitude to God and Others

In your quiet and devotional time with God, share your gratitude to God for who God is and all that God has done. Showing our appreciation to God through prayer, worship, and speaking God’s Word is an act of worship and surrender. Today, I also encourage and invite you to tell your family and friends thank you and what they mean to you. Hearing thank you affirms and strengthens the love and connection that is present.

While this Thanksgiving may be a season of overwhelm and burnout, I invite you to choose to be grateful. Write down your blessings, find one thing, and share your gratitude to God and others.

Action: How will you choose to give thanks during this season? What are you thankful for? Please let me know in the comments.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!