Blog

When the pastor's wife sitting across from me at coffee asked about my experience with compassion fatigue, I almost jumped out of my seat!  Though I’d never heard the term, I immediately knew the feeling, having experienced the perfect description several times in my life and most recently in ministry. 

Let’s break it down:

Compassion Fatigue, in my personal definition, would be:

It is often a physical, spiritual, and/or mental feeling of exhaustion that stems from being compassionate toward multiple people's circumstances over a short period of time or many over an extended period of time.

Pastors deal with this often, given the nature of their job. Hearing the worst of everyone’s problems and circumstances can bring on an incapacitating exhaustion, making it difficult to walk out of their calling.

We know we are to:

• Be tenderhearted toward one another
• Bear each other's burdens
• Pray for one another
• Encourage believers to be steadfast and faithful

We have to be careful to:

• Not let the problems of the world paralyze us.
• Take breaks to get the right perspective. 
• Enjoy God’s blessings in life. 
• Not let Compassion rob us of joy.

This all begs the questions:

• Are we being compassionate enough?
• Are we carrying weights only Jesus can carry for those we love and cherish?

May the Lord direct you as you seek to be in His will for the loving care of His people and the lost in your life.

Thank you so much for sharing your time with us. Cedar Creek Ministries is funded by Christians and churches who believe in the call to offer our leaders the double portion!  If you feel the desire to make sure all those men and women called to serve God in missions and ministry have everything they need to personally rest, restore family relationships and revive ministry vision, consider joining us in regular prayer and financial support!

Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram for weekly encouragement!

This post was written by Nickole Perry, co-founder and Director of Operations at Cedar Creek Ministries.