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Leading on Empty: Showing Up on Low-Energy Days
Episode Summary
On the days when your mind is foggy, your body is tired, and your energy runs thin, leadership feels heavier than usual. In this honest, unpolished, and deeply human episode, Jim speaks from a place of real exhaustion to answer a question every faith-driven creator and leader faces: What do you do when your capacity is low, but responsibilities remain?
If you're navigating chronic illness, mental fatigue, autoimmune flare days, or simply the weight of life, this conversation will steady your spirit. Jim unpacks the cultural pressure to be “always on,” the internal guilt that rises when your body shuts down, and the spiritual discipline of learning to rest from God rather than working for rest.
Through Scripture, lived experience, and pastoral insight, this episode helps you see low-energy days not as failures, but as sacred opportunities to practice presence, stewardship, and honest dependence on the Holy Spirit.
This is a grounding conversation for leaders who don’t need inspiration—they need permission to be human while remaining faithful.
Your Body Is Not the Enemy
Learning to steward your body—especially on flare days or low mental health days—is part of your leadership, not a distraction from it.
Rest Is Not a Reward
Scripture teaches us to work from rest, not toward it. Rest is a gift, not something you earn through productivity.
Trauma Shapes Our Relationship With Rest
Many leaders resist rest because early experiences linked stillness to judgment, punishment, or shame. Healing begins with naming that truth.
Leadership Happens in the Middle, Not the Mountaintop
True growth is formed in ordinary days, not peak inspiration. Steady obedience builds strength long before visibility arrives.
Faithfulness > Visibility
Your quiet, imperfect obedience means more than public impact. Influence is shaped in unseen places.
God Meets You in Your Limitations
Your weakness does not disqualify you from God’s presence or calling. It often becomes the very place where dependence deepens.
Small Acts of Faith Carry Real Weight
On low-capacity days, the most powerful thing you can offer is the simple, honest “yes” you have right now.
- “You don’t have to be inspirational to be faithful.”
- “We keep trying to earn rest, when rest was God’s gift in the first place.”
- “Leadership is shaped in ordinary moments, not just inspired ones.”
- “Your tired ‘yes’ may carry more weight than your strongest declaration.”
- “Faith doesn’t require fanfare. It requires presence.”
- “Your body is a temple. Stewardship begins with honesty about your limits.”
- “God’s power is made perfect in the places you feel least capable.”
- Genesis 2:2–3 — God’s rest as a gift for His people
- Matthew 11:28 — “Come to Me, all who are weary…”
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 — “My power is made perfect in weakness.”
- 1 Kings 19 — Elijah’s exhaustion and God’s gentle care
- Luke 16:10 — Faithful in little, faithful in much
- Psalm 23 — “He makes me lie down in green pastures”
1. What is one thing I can do at 30% today?
Choose an achievable, realistic action that honors your body and your calling.
2. What does obedience look like right now, not ideally?
Ask the Holy Spirit: What is mine to carry today… and what is not?
3. What small act of faith can I offer in the next five minutes?
A breath prayer, a simple note of encouragement, a moment of honesty before God.
4. Where have I confused productivity with worth?
Reflect on where cultural pressure has shaped your inner critic.
5. How can I invite rest into my day as a spiritual practice?
Rest is part of discipleship, not an escape from responsibility.
Download Jim’s 100 Breath Prayers Guide: www.leadwithjim.com/prayer
Join the Newsletter: www.leadwithjim.com/nl
Full Episode Transcript & Notes: www.leadwithjim.com/podcast
- 🌐 Website: www.leadwithjim.com
- 🎙️ Ask a Question: leadwithjim.com/ask
- 📱 Instagram: @leadwithjim
- ▶️ YouTube: Lead with Jim
- Facebook: @leadwithjim
✅ Subscribe to The Unshakable Life wherever you listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio
✅ Leave a 5-star review if this episode encouraged your faith.
✅ For more faith-driven leadership content, visit leadwithjim.com.
Never miss an episode of The Unshakable Life. Subscribe now and share this with a fellow leader who needs permission to rest, reset, and build an unshakable life from the inside out.
View all episodes
By Jim BurgoonEpisode Summary
On the days when your mind is foggy, your body is tired, and your energy runs thin, leadership feels heavier than usual. In this honest, unpolished, and deeply human episode, Jim speaks from a place of real exhaustion to answer a question every faith-driven creator and leader faces: What do you do when your capacity is low, but responsibilities remain?
If you're navigating chronic illness, mental fatigue, autoimmune flare days, or simply the weight of life, this conversation will steady your spirit. Jim unpacks the cultural pressure to be “always on,” the internal guilt that rises when your body shuts down, and the spiritual discipline of learning to rest from God rather than working for rest.
Through Scripture, lived experience, and pastoral insight, this episode helps you see low-energy days not as failures, but as sacred opportunities to practice presence, stewardship, and honest dependence on the Holy Spirit.
This is a grounding conversation for leaders who don’t need inspiration—they need permission to be human while remaining faithful.
Your Body Is Not the Enemy
Learning to steward your body—especially on flare days or low mental health days—is part of your leadership, not a distraction from it.
Rest Is Not a Reward
Scripture teaches us to work from rest, not toward it. Rest is a gift, not something you earn through productivity.
Trauma Shapes Our Relationship With Rest
Many leaders resist rest because early experiences linked stillness to judgment, punishment, or shame. Healing begins with naming that truth.
Leadership Happens in the Middle, Not the Mountaintop
True growth is formed in ordinary days, not peak inspiration. Steady obedience builds strength long before visibility arrives.
Faithfulness > Visibility
Your quiet, imperfect obedience means more than public impact. Influence is shaped in unseen places.
God Meets You in Your Limitations
Your weakness does not disqualify you from God’s presence or calling. It often becomes the very place where dependence deepens.
Small Acts of Faith Carry Real Weight
On low-capacity days, the most powerful thing you can offer is the simple, honest “yes” you have right now.
- “You don’t have to be inspirational to be faithful.”
- “We keep trying to earn rest, when rest was God’s gift in the first place.”
- “Leadership is shaped in ordinary moments, not just inspired ones.”
- “Your tired ‘yes’ may carry more weight than your strongest declaration.”
- “Faith doesn’t require fanfare. It requires presence.”
- “Your body is a temple. Stewardship begins with honesty about your limits.”
- “God’s power is made perfect in the places you feel least capable.”
- Genesis 2:2–3 — God’s rest as a gift for His people
- Matthew 11:28 — “Come to Me, all who are weary…”
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 — “My power is made perfect in weakness.”
- 1 Kings 19 — Elijah’s exhaustion and God’s gentle care
- Luke 16:10 — Faithful in little, faithful in much
- Psalm 23 — “He makes me lie down in green pastures”
1. What is one thing I can do at 30% today?
Choose an achievable, realistic action that honors your body and your calling.
2. What does obedience look like right now, not ideally?
Ask the Holy Spirit: What is mine to carry today… and what is not?
3. What small act of faith can I offer in the next five minutes?
A breath prayer, a simple note of encouragement, a moment of honesty before God.
4. Where have I confused productivity with worth?
Reflect on where cultural pressure has shaped your inner critic.
5. How can I invite rest into my day as a spiritual practice?
Rest is part of discipleship, not an escape from responsibility.
Download Jim’s 100 Breath Prayers Guide: www.leadwithjim.com/prayer
Join the Newsletter: www.leadwithjim.com/nl
Full Episode Transcript & Notes: www.leadwithjim.com/podcast
- 🌐 Website: www.leadwithjim.com
- 🎙️ Ask a Question: leadwithjim.com/ask
- 📱 Instagram: @leadwithjim
- ▶️ YouTube: Lead with Jim
- Facebook: @leadwithjim
✅ Subscribe to The Unshakable Life wherever you listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio
✅ Leave a 5-star review if this episode encouraged your faith.
✅ For more faith-driven leadership content, visit leadwithjim.com.
Never miss an episode of The Unshakable Life. Subscribe now and share this with a fellow leader who needs permission to rest, reset, and build an unshakable life from the inside out.