When the Burden Feels Too Heavy

I’m not sure when busyness became a badge of honor, but it nearly took me out.

As a guy who loves getting things done, I found myself chasing the next task, the next checkmark, the next accomplishment. If my calendar wasn’t filled to the brim, I felt uneasy—almost guilty. The fuller my plate became, the more validated I felt: needed, worthy, valuable.

The dangerous part was how it shaped the way I viewed others. If a man wasn’t running at full tilt, I looked at him with disdain. In my mind, I questioned how he could fail to recognize the gift of time and the responsibility to steward it with relentless drive, like I thought I did.

But eventually it all came crashing down. Overwhelm and burnout hit me head-on. And in that brokenness, God stepped in. He gave me the time, space, and perspective I desperately needed for a reframe.

Maybe you can relate. It feels like our culture now idolizes the man who can keep the most plates spinning. Gone are the days when a man works his job, comes home, and spends the evening with his family. Somehow every free moment has been filled with one more task, one more distraction, just one more…

It’s almost as if we’ve bought the lie that the weight of the world rests solely on our shoulders. The enemy loves this. He plants seeds of condemnation and uncertainty that, if left unchecked, turn into poison.

For me, it often started with comparison. At work, at home, even at church—I would look around and measure myself against others. Bitterness and covetousness crept in, fueling me to take on more and more. Yet if I had simply asked the ones who matter most—my family—what they wanted from me, “more stuff” would have been the last thing out of their mouths.

That’s why Jesus’ words in Matthew 11 hit so deeply: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” The hardest part of obeying that invitation is first admitting we’re weary and burdened. For most men, admitting struggle feels like losing—and we hate losing.

But what if it’s not losing at all? What if it’s a purposeful pause in the race of life? Think about Michael Jordan in his prime. On the court, he was a beast, but even at the top of his game, he needed timeouts and even minutes on the bench to recover.

In the same way, Jesus reminds us that life is hard and resistance is expected—but true rest is available. His rest isn’t like a sports drink or an energy bar. It’s deeper, fuller, always accessible, and exactly what our weary souls need.

Reflection Questions:

1. Where are you resisting Jesus’ invitation to find rest?
2. How can you build purposeful pauses into your routine?

Christian Leadership Assessment

Before you move forward, take a minute to assess where you actually stand as a man, a leader, and a follower of Christ.

Every man ends up in one of three places:
Striving. Isolating. Or Leading with Trust.

Most guys don’t slow down long enough to recognize which one is shaping their decisions, their habits, and their spiritual health.

This 5-question Leadership Assessment will help you identify:

• Where you’re leading in your own strength
• Where you’re avoiding the hard things
• Where God is building real, steady, anchored leadership in you

This isn’t about perfection. It’s about awareness.

Because a man can’t lead his family, his team, or anyone else if he isn’t leading himself well first.

Take the assessment and step into the next level of leadership God is calling you to: https://thelionwithin.us/assessment/just-a-guy/whos-overwhelmed/