If Your Job Feels Meaningless

Have you ever found yourself asking, Why am I so tired all the time?

Not just the kind of tired that sleep can fix—but soul-tired.
The kind of tired that makes it hard to care about the things you used to love. 

The kind that makes showing up feel heavier than it should.

Maybe you’ve been wondering: Does any of this even matter?
Would anyone notice if I stopped trying so hard?
Or maybe you’re just going through the motions, doing what needs to be done, but inside, you feel like something’s off.

If that’s where you are, I want you to know—you’re not alone. And you’re not failing.

We live in a world where burnout is baked into the culture. Studies show 66% of people are experiencing vocational fatigue. That means two-thirds of us are walking into each day already worn thin.¹

And yet somehow, we keep pushing. We keep performing. We keep trying to hold it all together, even when we feel like we’re falling apart inside.

But here’s something we forget, work was God’s idea—and it’s good.

Before burnout, before brokenness, before performance pressure—there was Eden. And in that garden, God gave Adam and Eve meaningful work. Not as punishment, but for a purpose. They weren’t hustling to prove anything. They were creating, cultivating, and partnering with God in beauty and goodness.

But after the fall, the gift of work was tangled up in thorns, becoming hard, heavy, and confusing. And now, here we are, trying to figure out how to carry it.

So, what do you do when the thing you once felt called to starts to feel like a burden? You pause, breathe, and come back to the One who never meant for you to carry it all alone.

Remember Elijah? One moment, he’s standing on a mountaintop calling down fire. The next, he’s alone under a broom tree saying, “I’ve had enough.”

He then says, “Take my life; I’m no better than my ancestors.” (1 Kings 19:4)

That wasn’t laziness or weakness. That was burnout. That was a soul stretched beyond its limit.

God didn’t meet Elijah with shame. He met him with rest. He gave him food, space, and quiet, and eventually, a gentle whisper that reminded Elijah he wasn’t alone.

God still meets people like that. People like you. Right where you are.

Jesus said, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) 

Not “Come to me with your polished faith.” 

Not “Come to me when you’re strong again.” 

Just come.

There’s a huge difference between working from your identity and working for it. When you live from the truth that you are already loved, already chosen, already enough, your work becomes a response, not a performance.

You were never meant to hustle for your worth. You were meant to live from the deep security that God is already pleased to be with you.

Prayer

Jesus, thank You for the gift of work. Thank You that work is meant to bring life to us, to others, and to the world. I pray for renewed vision and purpose. Restore my joy, remind me of my calling, and let my work flow from a heart anchored in Your presence and love. Bless my hands, mind, and days. In Your name, Amen.

Reflection

Today, step away for a few minutes—no agenda, no pressure. Sit in silence or go for a walk, and ask God:

1. Where am I running on empty?

2. What am I carrying that You never asked me to?

3. Am I trying to prove something You’ve already settled with love?

¹ Bryan Robinson, “Job Burnout at 66% in 2025: New Study Shows,” Forbes, February 8, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2025/02/08/job-burnout-at-66-in-2025-new-study-shows/