Caregiver Burnout Bible Verses to Inspire and Ground You

The Bible is powerful for Christian caregivers. The verses are a reminder that you’re not alone in this, that God will strengthen you and that there is purpose in what you’re doing.

This theme was very clear in our previous post on Bible verses for caregiving. In it, we highlighted verses about honoring our parents, supporting those in need, respecting our elders, and having patience.

Today, we’re focusing on caregiver burnout bible verses. Many of these will be familiar, as they’re inspiring verses that can help you lean more into God’s strength and know that you’re not alone. Such verses are often quoted and remain incredibly powerful.

But, those verses are only part of the story.

In the second half of this article, we’re looking at a different set of verses. These are the ones that speak to the importance of protecting ourselves, to the idea that we are not called to destroy ourselves in the process of giving.

This second half is crucial, as it’s too easy to use Bible verses as justification for burning yourself out. I don’t believe we’re called to do that. Instead, the Bible talks about rest, caring for ourselves, and being wise.

All verses are given from the NIV translation, sourced through Bible Gateway. Any emphasis is my own.

Inspiring Bible Verses

Let’s begin with inspiration. These are the Bible verses that will lift you up, give you strength, and help you find your feet again.

Psalms 28: 6-7. Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. 7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

Psalms 37: 23-24. The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; 24 though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

Luke 11:9-10. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Hebrews 13:5. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Matthew 5:7-8. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Isaiah 41:10. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Philippians 4:6–7. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Joshua 1:9. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Psalm 40:1-2. I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

The Importance of Caring

There are certainly verses that speak to the importance of caring, including the ones below.

1 Peter 4: 8-9. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Galatians 6:8-10. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

However, as you read these, remember that they are general verses. They speak to the importance of giving and caring for others. But, crucially, they don’t tell us when to give and when not to.

This distinction is incredibly relevant because other Bible verses speak to us about why we need to be wise, rather than simply giving whenever we are asked to.

Other Caregiver Burnout Bible Verses

How We Matter and Need Boundaries

The Bible tells us again and again that we are valuable. This means that our well-being matters too and that God has plans for our lives.

We are beloved and haven’t been abandoned, even if it feels like it at times.

Mark 12:30-31. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

The interesting thing here is the phrase ‘love your neighbor as yourself. It tells you to love them like you love yourself, not more than, which highlights the value of still loving and still caring for yourself.

Proverbs 4:23. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Guarding your heart means not letting people trample all over you. This means that sometimes you will need to say no and to be firm in your no.

Think of it this way, if God cares for you and has plans for your life, would he want you constantly overwhelmed, stressed, and burned out?

2 Corinthians 9:7. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

This verse can be interpreted in two ways. One is that you should try harder to give gladly. The other is that you should only give when you truly want to.

I believe the latter is the correct interpretation. After all, it’s almost impossible to make yourself happy about giving when you don’t want to be.

This is highly relevant to caregiving, suggesting that you listen to your instincts when considering when to provide care and when not to.

Proverbs 22:3. The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

This is another call for wisdom, showing us that we need to make good decisions. We shouldn’t just stick with an overwhelming and destructive situation out of a misplaced sense of guilt.

Reminders That We Need To Rest

Mark 6:31-32. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

Indeed, there are multiple times in Jesus’ ministry when either he went away from the crowds or when he called his disciples to do so.

There is also the case of Mary and Martha, where Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to him, while Martha did tasks around the house (Luke 10). Here, Mary was considered the wise one.

Another example comes from the Old Testament, where Moses was acting as a judge for his people, doing so from morning till night (Exodus 18). His father-in-law said “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone.” (Exodus 18:17-18).

Based on his father-in-law’s suggestions, Moses changed his approach and trained others to act as judges for simple cases and just brought the difficult ones to him.

This idea is crucial for caregivers. It’s too easy to burn ourselves out by taking on far more than is our responsibility. 

Calls to Trust and Be Wise

Some verses highlight the importance of God’s wisdom and discernment in all we do.

This is valuable for caregiving, as it’s easy to assume that we are meant to weather the storm and provide as much care as we possibly can. This may be the case, but not always. Sometimes we may be called to step back instead, to trust in God’s plan for our loved one, rather than trying to hold on so tightly ourselves.

James 1:5. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.

This verse might make you wonder what plans? After all, it’s hard to imagine much of a plan if you’re stuck providing care day after day. 

However, God sees a much larger picture than we do.

It may also be time to pray for wisdom and discernment, as you may not be in the right place doing the right thing. Sometimes we’re called to follow God in a different way than we expect.

In some situations, this might even mean that we’re not meant to be providing hands on care. God may want us elsewhere and want us to trust in his plan for our aging parents.

2 Corinthians 5:7. For we live by faith, not by sight.

Similarly, here, we must trust that God knows what he’s doing with us. He has plans, even if we don’t recognize them.

The Good Samaritan

Finally, let’s move away from Bible verses to talk about the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). This is used as an illustration of being a good neighbor.

But, as Cloud and Townsend point out, that’s not all the story tells us.

The parable also highlights the idea of boundary setting.

In particular, the good Samaritan bandaged the injured man’s wounds, took him to an inn and stayed with him overnight. Then, he left – giving the innkeeper money to care for the injured man.

The story is used as an illustration of the right thing to do, yet the Samaritan could have easily done more. He could have stayed with the man until he recovered, rather than trusting that a stranger would do so.

This reinforces the idea that we’re not called to do everything we can possibly do. Often, we’re called to do what’s needed, then move on.

For example, in the caregiving situation, this might mean you need to help your aging parent into assisted living, so you free up time and energy to serve the Lord in other ways. Or, perhaps there’s another approach.

Final Thoughts

These burnout Bible verses highlight a few key themes.

First, you’re not alone. God is with you. He will strengthen you and see you through the hard times.

Second, serving God doesn’t mean denying yourself everything constantly. Doing so would place you in a permanent state of exhaustion and make you ineffective at supporting your loved one anyway.

Jesus himself periodically stepped away from the crowds. Plus, the Bible regularly talks about loving others as ourselves, not more than ourselves and certainly not instead of ourselves.

Third, we are called to be wise. This includes thinking about the situation and choosing when to give and when to set boundaries.