If you’ve ever been weary, you are in good company. Moses
grew weary of holding up his hands when the Israelites
battled the Amalekites (Exodus 17:11-13).
Job grew weary in
the midst of his heart wrenching trial (Job 10:1). And David
grew so weary with his groaning that he soaked his pillow
with tears and drenched his couch with weeping (Psalm 6:6).
Now that’s weary!
What is weariness? Exhausted strength. Failing endurance.
Washed-out vigor. Weariness brings with it spirits of
heaviness and fainting that make you feel like quitting.
Weariness skews your perspective. It causes you to look at
the world – and maybe even the church – through bleary eyes.
Weariness has friends named Discouragement and Confusion and
the trio sings a chorus that sounds something like this:
“I’m bending over backwards and I’m not getting anything but
an aching back. The only light at the end of the tunnel is a
locomotive coming to mow me down. Nothing’s ever going to
change so I may as well stop trying so hard. I don’t even
know what I’m even supposed to be doing anymore!”
Have you heard that refrain, or something similar? It’s easy
enough to chime in and form a quartet with these voices – or
even take the lead. You’ll sing your weariness song to
anybody and everybody who will listen. Other weary soldiers
may join the chorus and even add new lyrics. Remember the
old tune, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen…nobody knows
my sorrow”? I think that goes back to Job’s days, but many
of us still sing that same sad song from time to time.
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of The Voice magazine.Look, if you
are doing anything great for the Lord – whether that’s
heading an international ministry or heading a single-parent
home – then you can expect weariness to visit your dwelling
place. Jesus noticed 2,000 years ago that the harvest was
plenty but the laborers are few. Unfortunately, not much has
changed in that regard since His days on earth.
So what’s an apostolic believer to do when weariness comes
humming its tune? Well, first fold up your “Super Christian”
tights nice and neat and hang up your cape in the closet. In
other words, take some rest at the first sign of weariness.
Remember, weariness is the first stop on the road to
burnout. God commands us to keep a Sabbath day once a week.
Even Jesus got tired sometimes and He is the Son of the
Living God.
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Remember when Jesus and His disciples were on their way from Judea to
Galilee? The apostolic gang had to travel through Samaria.
Jesus arrived in a town called Sychar near the tract of land
Jacob gave to Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. “So Jesus,
tired as He was from His journey, sat down [to rest] by the
well. It was then about the sixth hour (about noon)” (John
4:3-6 AMP). Jesus got tired, and it was only noon! So give
yourself a break. It’s OK to be tired.
Jesus even encouraged His disciples to rest. “And He said to
them, [As for you] come away by yourselves to a deserted
place, and rest a while—for many were [continually] coming
and going, and they had not even leisure enough to eat. And
they went away in a boat to a solitary place by themselves”
(Mark 6:32 AMP). I can just hear some of you right now,
“Send that boat my way!”
Now, if you go off in that boat and rest a while and you are
still weary, well, my friends, we’ve got a different issue.
The writer of Hebrews warns us not to grow weary because we
could lose heart and faint in our minds (Hebrews 12:3). Of
course, the enemy plans attacks against us while we are
weary and weak (2 Samuel 17:1-3). Again, I believe weariness
brings it cousins Discouragement and Confusion and their
melody is as miserable as the saddest country song you’d
ever want to hear.
You already know the answer to weariness, of course. It’s in
the Word of God. As I searched the Bible, I was encouraged
and decisive (the very opposites of discouraged and
confused) about the remedy for weariness. Indeed, the Bible
is full of promises to the weary soldier. So tune up your
vocal chords and get ready to sing these verses to the enemy
next time you feel weary:
“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the
everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the
earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching
of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to
them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the
youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall
utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew
their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and
not faint” (Isaiah 40: 28-31).
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We have a
part to play. We have to wait on the Lord. I like how the
Amplified version expounds on the word “wait” in this verse:
to expect, look for, and hope in Him. When David was in a
weary land where there was no water he earnestly sought God,
crying, “My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you”
(Psalm 63:1 NIV). He prayed God, “Strengthen me according to
your word” (Psalm 119:28 NIV).
If you are weary, Jesus is calling to you now. He is saying,
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to
me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show
you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me –
watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I
won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company
with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly”
(Matthew 11:28-30 MSG). Unforced rhythms of grace…I like
that promise. Let me leave you with one more from Galatians
6:9: “Let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in
acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the
appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and
relax our courage and faint.”
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