Are you living at your best—or simply getting by? For many believers, chronic exhaustion has become a quiet norm. Yet Scripture reminds us that burnout isn’t a badge of honor. It’s a warning light. When life feels out of balance, it may be a sign we’re pushing beyond the limits God lovingly designed for our good.
Today, we sat down with Carey Nieuwhof—pastor, bestselling author of At Your Best: How to Get Time, Energy, and Priorities Working in Your Favor, leadership expert, and host of the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast, as well as the founding pastor of Connexus Church—to talk about how Christians can pursue biblical rest and renewed purpose. Carey’s insights come not from theory, but from the deepest valley of personal experience.
When Success Masks Exhaustion
Carey’s story began two decades ago, during a season of explosive ministry growth. His church was thriving, opportunities were multiplying, and by every outward measure, life was “on top.” But amid this success, his inner world was collapsing.
After returning from a high-profile speaking event, Carey hit a wall:
“It was like I fell off a cliff. I lost motivation, passion, and energy. I met all the symptoms of clinical depression. My body declared a finish line I had refused to acknowledge.”
People around him saw the signs. He didn’t. And that’s often the story behind burnout—others notice the warning lights long before we do.
Carey describes burnout as “the gap between what you’re capable of and what you’re carrying.” Early in ministry, he assumed that increasing responsibility meant increasing hours. It was an unsustainable equation.
Yet today, two decades later, he leads a much larger platform with far more influence—without living exhausted. Why? Because he restructured his life around a biblical rhythm of rest, limits, and intentional focus.
Managing Energy, Not Just Time
Many Christians feel that better time management will fix their overload. But as Carey points out, time is a fixed asset—everyone gets the same 24 hours. Energy, however, rises and falls.
Every person has what Carey calls a “green zone”—a few hours each day when they are at their best mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. For him, it’s morning. For others, it might be midday or evening.
His challenge is simple: Do what you’re best at when you’re at your best.
When he writes in his green zone, he gets exponential results. When he tries the same work in his “red zone,” productivity crashes. This principle applies to everyone—from CEOs to parents, pastors, and business owners.
Stewarding energy also requires boundaries. That means saying no—not out of selfishness, but out of faithfulness.
Carey explains:
- Saying yes to every request eventually forces you to say no to the people who matter most.
- Delegation is a spiritual discipline.
- Some opportunities, even good ones, don’t align with God’s call in a particular season.
By categorizing his decisions—like eliminating breakfast meetings that compete with his green zone—Carey reclaimed the margin he had been missing for years.
Rest Is Not a Reward—It’s Design
For many Christians, rest feels like something we “earn” after working ourselves to the edge. But biblically, rest is part of our calling.
Carey describes Sabbath not just as rehab
