Have you ever gotten to the point of being burned out? Maybe it was over a difficult job, or an emotional family situation, or worrying about a health issue, or trying to have a baby? Perhaps it is a spiritual burnout? After a while, when you have given tremendous amounts of time and energy, you became physically drained and emotionally exhausted. The many prayers prayed and unanswered or acts of service done in Jesus’ name has worn you down. Your once-blazing fire has become merely more than glowing embers, and you are burned out.

Recently I was informed of a friend-of-a-friend’s very serious health crisis, as people were reaching out and asking for prayer for this man. Not knowing him personally, I looked for and found a recent podcast interview this man Jesse had done, and listened to it as I hiked for over an hour.

Jesse had been incarcerated and imprisoned 7 times, had been an outspoken racist, was addicted to drugs and alcohol, and had been filled with hate from head to toe for most of his life; fighting, hurting, robbing n stealing, and destroying anything or anyone that got in his way. But Jesus wanted him, and literally saved him from the hate and the addictions, and soon Jesse surrendered his will, his whole heart and ultimately his life to Jesus Christ. Now, Jesse is very vocal to anyone he meets about Jesus’ transforming work in his life, and he willingly shares his testimony even in the darkest of places. His passion is to serve Jesus by reaching out to those that he relates to in his past.

But as I listened, I heard Jesse briefly mention something that the Holy Spirit had pointed out to him. He recalled the parable of the 10 virgins, and how they had to ‘trim their lamps’ in order for the fire to burn brightly.

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As thebridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.
But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’
And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Matthew 25:1-13

You see, the oil lamps had wicks that were made of flax linen. After being used for some time, the top of the wick – which was the portion that burned hotly – needed to be trimmed. Though the rest of the lengthy wick was sitting in and saturated by the lamp oil, the top of the wick had over time become less useful and the flame became dull due to the charred, burnt ends, also resulting in unwanted smoke. Trimming the flax wick allowed for the oil to be drawn up to the newly cut wick, enhancing the efficiency and brightness of the now smokeless and clean flame.

Our flame of Godly passion becomes dull when we keep focusing on ourselves, which is one of the main reasons we get burned out.

“She (an excellent wife) perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.”
Proverbs 31:18

How do we ‘trim the wick’ of our spiritual lamp so that it burns brightly, efficiently and cleanly? First, we need to recognize that to do so requires a moment of rest. This can be as simple as 30 minutes of worshipping the Lord in song. For me, when I take a chunk of time and worship my Savior in song when alone, it refocuses my heart and my vision. It reminds me of WHO I owe it all to, and of how great He truly is. This act of selflessness – by giving Jesus my emotions, my will, and my attention – puts the Father in the forefront and not me or my problems. God is greater than anything we encounter or face. So when we give it all to Him in thought, word and deed, we are letting go of our rein, which lightens the load of our burden we carry.

Another way to ‘trim the wick’ of our spiritual lamp is to reevaluate what we are passionate about: are we spending our energy on things that are not of God, or on what He has called us to do? We waste our time and energy when we spend it on our own heart’s desire, which in turn wears us down emotionally, physically, and spiritually. What are you spending all of your energy and time on? Is it promoting yourself on social media? Is it taking on things that cause your plate to overflow and then nothing gets done well or with excellence? Consider how your time and energy is used. If it is spent on serving the Lord faithfully and well, you won’t get burned out as long as you remember to take time to rest, say for example, on the Sabbath day. I think we have overlooked the importance of the Sabbath day as being the Lord’s day for us to rest, get rejuvenated, and think on these things.

“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.”
Luke 12:35

In summary, one of the most powerful ways to overcome burnout and find joy in the Lord is through prayer and worship. The Bible instructs us to “rejoice in the Lord.” As we praise God in worship our hearts are filled with joy!

Food for thought: For further information about oil lamps and the Holy Spirit, please check out another snapinspire.com post titled “The Lampstand and the Olive Oil”.

One more thought: If you are a new believer in Jesus Christ, know that lamps that have brand new wicks need to soak in the oil for a short period of time before they are at their peak of being usable and won’t burn out so fast. In other words, it is helpful (though not required!) to take some time getting to know your Lord while the Holy Spirit is filling you up before you go out into the world and testify. The enemy will come either way and try to weaken you if you are not prepared and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Fun facts: Lamp trimmer was a specialist position on board ships that involved maintaining oil lamps. In the days when light came from burning oil in lamps, a vessel at sea needed crewmen to constantly care for the lamps. This care involved trimming the wick, which drew the oil up from the storage reservoir, so that the flame would be clean and bright. Lamp trimmers also refilled the reservoirs, which held enough oil for several hours of burning, but not enough to start a major fire if the lamp were to be knocked down or damaged somehow. As vessels became larger, the number of lamp trimmers increased significantly, because the only lighting below decks came from lamps. – Wikipedia

“A properly trimmed wick should provide a full, rounded flame that provides the maximum amount of light with the minimum amount of smoke. The wick shouldn’t have any points that might elongate the flame. A long flame often creates smoke, which pollutes the room, smudges the chimney (which lessens light), and wastes fuel.”
– Mark Zeiger

UPDATE: Jesse has been miraculously healed by the Lord after his severe brain injuries, as He has more work for him to do! AMEN! It is doubtful that Jesse’s lamp will get burned out any time soon!!

Photo by: Kari Wiseman – The Wick and the Flame