Leaders aren’t full of limitless energy. Go hard enough for long enough and you’ll run out of steam. You need to relax, refresh and recharge. There’s a danger at times in just pressing further and further. Kindness and patience tend to go first. Leaders who are overburdened with too much work, too many responsibilities, can find themselves both physically and mentally exhausted.
Chronic workplace stress reduces your efficiency and effectiveness. And it can increase your negative feelings toward your work, your family, your life.[1] If you find yourself snapping at people, raising your voice, giving up after being on hold for a few minutes—maybe it’s time to recharge. For the faith-centered leader, remember that God has built mechanisms into your life for rebuilding your personal and professional capacities:
Recharging through rest. God built you to require rest. We don’t actually know everything about sleep and the human body, but we do know that people who don’t get enough sleep become physically unhealthy. Sleep in children supports growth and development. In adults, sleep helps reset the brain. There’s a strong connection between insomnia and mental disorders.[2] Though God did not need rest after creation, the Bible says that He rested. Genesis 2:2-3 further says that God designed rest into His creation and sanctified it—that is, God made rest a holy and pure practice. So sit down, turn off your devices, close your eyes. Rest is not just a daily need. It is good for you.
Recharging through relationships. The time you spend with other people can not only energize them and give them encouragement, it can also refresh your own life and leadership. All leaders deal with negativity and criticism. In your life, you need people whose connection to you is positive and uplifting. Christ-centered men are directed to be this for one another. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 tells us to “encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” This is not just a charge to engage other people, but a reminder that isolation in leadership will suck the life out of you. Relationships are a requirement of leadership and are to encourage you as you encourage others.
Recharging through Scripture. We can recharge by resting and spending time with others. But a great means of re-energizing our batteries is to spend time with God. Psalm 42:1 teaches us, “As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, God.” A Christ-centered leader will feel this “longing for God” daily. It’s a desire to not only worship God and serve God, but a deep satisfaction that comes from knowing God.[3]You’ll know God primarily through studying His Word, the Bible. Don’t neglect this daily opportunity to recharge through Scripture. Choose a Bible reading plan and make it a systematic part of your morning, setting the tone for the remainder of the day. A Christ-centered leader is a spiritual being, needing spiritual food daily in order to survive and thrive.
The world we live in has ups and downs. It requires us to take time out and gain physical, personal and spiritual fuel for the coming day. The Bible speaks of a time in the future when we won’t experience death, or loss, or negatives, or heartbreak—all of the elements that drag us down now will not be present. Until that time, though we need to seek out ways to daily recharge, so that we can effectively live and lead in our marriages, families and workplaces.
Let’s also look forward to Revelation 21, which says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’”
An alarming trend is younger workers checking out. Whether from burnout, mental health issues, boredom or self-isolation, more and more workers and leaders and disengaging. What does the Bible say about it?