Facing the Shadows of an Endless Night
A Biblical Response to Burnout
Mercifully, the Bible is not about fairy tales. God’s Word presents the revelation of God by means of frail and sometimes faltering human beings. Thus, glory is often concealed in the womb of pain.
The Westminster Confession of Faith is a statement of Christian doctrine that was written by English, Welsh, Scot, and Irish clergy and scholars in the 17th century. In Chapter 1, Section 1, the Confession states:
"The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man's salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men."
This quote affirms the belief that the Bible contains everything necessary for understanding the realities of God, salvation, faith, and life. It rejects the idea that additional revelations or traditions are necessary, emphasizing instead the sufficiency and reality of the Bible's message. By doing so, it underscores the importance of understanding the Bible as a book that speaks to the real world, rather than as a collection of fairy tales or myths.
The Bible both defines life and reflects life as it is lived, not as it is dreamed. There is a spiritual affliction that can arise like the dark shadow of an endless night. I speak the time when expectations of life and the reality of life fail to sync. It creates a loss of meaning, or, as is often called, “burnout.”
Read and listen to my reflections on how burnout can become a transformative event for good. My latest from Crosswalk and Christianity.com: “Transforming Burnout: https:// www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/crosswalk-devo/transforming-burn-out-the- crosswalk-devotional.html.