Burnout – Henri Nouwen Society

Matthew 13:3-9 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 Let anyone with ears listen!”

I love the parable of the sower, because it reminds me of the spiritual life. As I live and grow, and take steps both forwards and backwards, I come back to read this parable often, because I can see life at various stages within this parable. It is not necessarily sequential with the parable. Life deos not always happen in that order. But no matter the order, or which one we live out at any given time, it is all part of growing and part of the journey.

Jesus explains: “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Sometimes we wait for something. The right event. The dream job. The larger pay check. The dream vacation. My dream kitchen. My HGTV dream house. The winning power ball number. Everything else is on hold. Life is on hold. Spiritual seeds fall on the path or the rocky ground, strong roots don’t form, thorns get in the way, and we have no idea what is going on. But we think we know that the one thing we think will satisfy us just has not happened yet. But it will come to pass. Won't it? Where am I going?

What are you doing to allow God to fill that space, that hole, the exhaustion of life that you feel, to get to that more peaceful place?

Read today’s selected devotional by Henri Nouwen Society

Burnout – Henri Nouwen Society

Aren’t you, like me, hoping that some person, thing, or event will come along to give you that final feeling of inner…read…read more


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