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Long hours, high-pressure environments, and the weight of responsibility can take a toll, leaving even experienced church techs drained and questioning their endurance. Feeling this way doesn’t mean you’ve failed—it means you’re human, and recognizing it is the first step toward recovery and sustainable ministry.
I think most of us who have served in the church tech space for any length of time have felt exhausted, depressed, lonely, and maybe even burned out. Maybe you’re even there right now.
And it’s no wonder…this industry has high rates for mental health struggles due to the combination of long hours, high pressure, and underappreciation.
The good news is that the Bible provides a template for hope amidst seasons of darkness like that, and it comes from a story in the life of the prophet Elijah.
In 1 Kings 18, Elijah had just experienced his greatest victory as a prophet, defeating hundreds of evil prophets and then praying for (and seeing) an end to a multi-year drought. But immediately after those highs, Queen Jezebel threatens him with death in the early verses of 1 Kings 19, so he hightails it to the desert to hide.
Pausing and reflecting can reveal God’s guidance in quiet whispers.
Over the next few verses, the reader sees the depths of his despair. And as he faces each challenge, the Lord provides him a recipe for recovery that applies to each of us today.
First, in 1 Kings 19:5-8, he collapses from exhaustion and God provides him with food and drink during his lengthy naps so he has the strength to face the journey ahead.
Many of us may be in Elijah’s shoes, where the journey we’ve been on has been so exhausting and overwhelming at times that we simply struggle finding the energy to keep going from day to day.
It’s easy in this line of work to see long hours and lack of sleep as a badge of honor. We’re often the first ones to the church building and some of the last to leave, plugging away at something long after our coworkers on other teams head home. We don’t get recognized for the long hours (and many of us do it without being effectively compensated), and though we do it because we love it, it can still be draining.
And because of the long hours, we often take our work home with us, working into the night after our spouse or kids have gone to bed. We get to work late, and to cope the next day rely on copious amounts of coffee or energy drinks.
Mental health is as critical as technical skill in ministry work.
Or maybe we stay up late to unwind on social media or bingeing shows and are similarly drained the next morning anyway. Our body doesn’t have optimal energy, so we might struggle managing emotions and responses because we’re running low on sleep.
Regardless of why we’re there, we may be in a place similar to Elijah’s, where there’s a long journey ahead (event support or planning, perhaps) and we just feel like giving up for lack of strength.
While Elijah had supernatural provision, sometimes we just need to make better choices and use the resources already at our disposal. We need better boundaries to leave work earlier or stop taking it home with us. We need set bed routines and regular food schedules so we can stay nourished and energized. We need to limit our caffeine intake so our bodies don’t build unhealthy dependencies.
Taking better care of our bodies and minds will pay immediate dividends and allow us the energy and focus we need to take care of the responsibilities on our plates.
After Elijah continued on his journey, he entered a cave to stay while he waited on God. And the following morning when God asked him why he was there, Elijah launched into a pity party routine (v. 9) about all of the problems he was facing.
Boundaries aren’t weakness—they’re essential for sustainable ministry.
Like Elijah, we can fall into that pattern ourselves too. We can be so focused on negative things that happen around us, or the times we don’t get our way, or the times we feel marginalized and unheard, that we lose sight of why we’re in that place to begin with.
Elijah was in his place because God placed him there on purpose for a purpose. We, like Elijah, are exactly where God has called us to be.
The apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 13 that God gives out all authority, whether that’s the spiritual authority we have as His children, or leadership authority from Him placing us in a certain role to serve His purpose.
Out of everyone in the history of the universe, God chose ME to be in this exact place at this exact time. He knew what hardships and challenges I would face, and He never calls me to something without providing the provision and equipping necessary to overcome them.
My problem is that sometimes, like Elijah, I get so focused on my circumstances, and all of the complaining that may come with them, that I lose sight of the God who is bigger than those circumstances and who equips me with the power to overcome them!
I am where I am because God is using me to make a difference. When I remind myself that my purpose supersedes my surroundings, I can stay secure in the power that He’s given me as an overcomer.
God reminded Elijah of his calling and renewed his direction in verses 15-17, and this provided fresh energy and passion for Elijah. Maybe I need to do the same thing. Maybe I need to remind myself of God’s calling in my life and ask for a fresh infusion of vision and passion for that to provide the wind in my sails when things seem overwhelming and bleak. Then, I’ll remember that my circumstances are temporary and my calling will still continue in spite of them.
But in order to seek and hear God’s reassurance in my life, I must change what I’m listening to, just like Elijah did.
When he was in the cave, he was listening to his own voice and complaints, and when he went to meet God, he was expecting him in an earthquake and in fire. But God instead came in a gentle whisper.
Sometimes we’re guilty of listening to the wrong things too. We only hear our own voices in a negative echo chamber in our minds. Or the only voices we listen to are secular movies and music.
Or we stay so busy that the only voice we hear is the “go, go, go” of our to-do list, and we never slow down long enough to actually listen when God is trying to speak.
The reason God speaks in whispers is because you can’t hear them over all of the other noise of life. He’s not going to out-shout everything. He wants us to detach from the clutter and chaos, quiet our lives and minds, and seek him out.
Am I doing that regularly? Am I prioritizing my quiet times and healthy spiritual rhythms so I can hear him prodding my heart? Or do I just stay so busy and frenetic that there’s no way I could hear God because I don’t slow down long enough?
Life is busy. Work is busy. Things are chaotic. It can be exhausting for sure.
That’s why it’s critical that we learn Elijah’s lessons about how to overcome those challenges and get ourselves back to a healthy place mentally.
We need to properly rest and recharge our bodies. We need to reconnect with our purpose and calling. And in order to do those things and discern God’s direction, we need to quiet our lives enough to where we can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit as he guides us.
When we follow that pattern, we can break free of the pattern of mental un-health and step into the joy and freedom God intended for us. We can step into the light of life when we step out of the darkness of the cave.
