That’s the question raised recently by a research report from LICC and Spring Harvest. They surveyed 3,000 British Christians to see what kind of issues people faced in their lives, and the challenges they encountered in their faith. 55% of respondents replied that ‘fatigue’ was the main challenge to their walk with God.
The same number of people, 55%, reported that time pressure and stress were problems for them, 45% struggled with long working hours, and 47% wrestle with the so-called work/life balance.
The report was commissioned ahead of the annual Spring Harvest conference, and aimed to pin-point specific challenges to the church in the UK.
What should our response be to this? Perhaps we should be more aware of the pressures that people are under, and think carefully about whether the church lifts burdens or adds to them. We also need to ask some questions of ourselves – the gospel is a message of freedom, and Jesus calls us to rest in him and in his presence. Shouldn’t Christians in the UK be wary of kudos in busy-ness, and be confident enough to live at a slower pace? It is, after all, only when we slow down that we have time for others around us, and time for community.
It was with the issue of busyness and burnout that SGM Lifewords released the booklet Walking in the Desert. It uses the story of Elijah to tell a story of exhaustion and new strength found in God. You can order it here.
These statistics are truly surprising! Does this not suggest a need for greater emphasis and reliance on the promise for us ln Isaiah 40:30-31 (King James Version)
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
It seems the problem is not new or unique to our time.
May I use this on http://churchestogether.be ?
Keep up the good work!
Gil