Overcoming Weariness

We are in the sixth week of mandatory lock downs due to COVID-19. Our governor has chosen to extend the stay home/stay safe order for another two weeks….minimum. What was supposed to be a short two week effort to flatten the curve has turned into a seemingly never-ending cycle of social distancing. It feels like imprisonment. It’s dragged on far longer than we ever could have imagined when this whole outbreak started, and there is no end in sight for some of us. At this point in time, we may be asking ourselves what this was all for? There seem to be voices on both sides of the line, and no one really knows whether the lock downs were a necessary evil or a bad idea that has dragged this out far longer than it should have.

I’m not hear to debate political policies or even scientific data on the subject. It’s not important to our every day lives in this moment right now. What is important, though, is how we’re all coping with the situation we find ourselves in right now. Since the lock down started, our church has tried to put together daily times of encouragement and prayer to help give believers, and anyone else who’s looking for it, a shot in the arm. So every week day morning at 7 am, some of our pastors do a Facebook live video where they give an encouraging word, a confession of faith, and a time of prayer. It’s a wonderful time to get together in the only way we can at this point. We have a little chat in the comment section and agree in prayer with anyone who has a need. On Thursdays, our women’s minister does an extra broadcast at 10 am. That’s a little later than our normal weekly women’s ministry meeting would start, but it still gives us ladies a quick time to join together on Facebook, watch a live message just for us, and catch up on all our friends who we miss terribly.

During this week, Pastor Karen said something that caught my attention. She said, “I think we’re all feeling weary at this time.” I definitely could attest to that. While I wasn’t feeling weary at that very moment, I had dealt with a nasty feeling of weariness just the week before. The world seemed darker. Everything seemed harder. It felt like the joy and the strength were just being sucked out of me. I wondered why I should even bother trying to keep up with a routine or trying to do new things during this time when it just seemed to stretch on and on and on. Pastor Karen’s message was about pressing through until you find your second wind, and that got me thinking as well.

I’m not a runner. I hate running actually! In fact, I often joke with my husband that if a murderer or something scary were chasing me, I would admit I have had a pretty good life, make peace with it, and let it get me because I would just rather die than have to run. So there are a lot of metaphors that Paul uses in his writings that I just can’t identify with. All those metaphors of running or competing athletically for a prize are completely lost on me. I’m just not the athletic type. I more the cuddle up with a good book and a nice cuppa type. But weariness I understand.

We often use weary as a synonym for tired, and it is. It’s also more than that. The Oxford Dictionary defines tired as “in need of rest or sleep; fed up, annoyed, irritated, or sick of.” If I do a long day’s work, I might feel tired, but a good rest will put everything right again. Tired is a temporary feeling. It’s a feeling I get when I’ve exerted myself a bit. Weary, on the other hand means “having the strength exhausted by toil or exertion.” This isn’t just a long day’s work. This is the feeling you get after several long days’ work. It’s the feeling you get when a good, old fashioned nap just won’t cut it. You need several naps. You need a vacation!

After the first two weeks of the stay home/stay safe order, I was tired. Even though I’m an introvert and tend to stay home anyway, there was still something different about not being able to go anywhere even if I wanted to. It was tiresome. It was boring. But a new project or a jigsaw puzzle was enough to shake things up a bit and restore my good spirits. I talked to God about how bored I was, but I wasn’t in desperate need of any divine intervention. After six weeks of the stay home/stay safe order, I can definitely say that I am weary. I miss seeing people at church. I miss attending my weekly Bible studies. I miss visits with my kids and being able to hug and kiss and snuggle them. I’m well beyond tired. I’m long past bored. No amount of projects or jigsaw puzzles or good books is enough to restore my spirits.

I am weary. I am losing all motivation to do even the routine things anymore. It seems pointless. I’m weary to the point of almost falling into depression. My strength is drained. I talk to God about my weariness, and I’m in desperate need of some divine intervention. Luckily, weariness is nothing new to God. Weariness is something everyone faces at some point in time. David felt weariness as he ran from Saul and later from Absolom’s attempt to take the throne. In Psalm 73:26, David encourages himself by writing: “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” David knows who to turn to when He needs rest: God. In Psalm 55:22, he says: “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” Jesus felt weariness after His time in the wilderness. Once His temptation was complete, angels came and attended Him. Paul felt weariness. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, he writes: “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

In each of these cases, God provided rest and strength. Isaiah says, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40: 29-31). In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus promises to provide rest to the weary: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

“They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” We’re back to running again, and it got me thinking about a movie I saw recently, Overcomer. The movie follows the story of a teenage girl who believes she’s an orphan. She begins attending a Christian school where she joins the track team. She’s the only member. As she trains, her coach (whose really the basketball coach) discovers that her father is still alive. Her father was a track star as well, and it’s his advice the coach has been using to know how to help her train. The day of the championship race is at hand, and Hannah is nervous about her performance. She’s never won a race. Her coach decides to have her father coach her by having him talk to her on a recording that she’s allowed to listen to while running.

The race begins, and Hannah starts running. “Don’t burn yourself out early,” her father says. “Settle into an even pace.” It’s a rookie mistake to use all your energy and power early. It’s the lesson learned by the foolish virgins, after all. Ten virgins trim their lamps and prepare to wait for the arrival of the bridegroom. Five of them bring just enough oil for the journey, but the other five bring a little bit extra. They want to be prepared in case things take a little bit longer than expected. Of course, it does take a bit longer. The five foolish virgins are out of oil. They have nothing left. They have wearied in the waiting. They have to seek out a refill of oil, and they end up missing the wedding feast as a result. The five wise virgins had extra oil. They didn’t burn out early. They paced themselves. They knew that things often take longer than we expect, and they were ready.

“When your body tells you that you can’t do it, don’t listen to it. It’ll tell you that you should quit. But you tell your body that your mind is in charge today.” It reminds me of 1 Corinthians 9:27. Paul says, “No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” “I tell my body that my spirit man is in charge,” says Paul. I don’t want to quit early. I don’t want to give up. I want to push through my weariness and gain the victor’s crown. There are many times when we’re enduring trials that our flesh tells us we can’t do it. Our flesh cries out to give up…to give in. But if we listen to the right voice, our spirit will encourage us to keep our eyes on Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. He will strengthen us as we push through. He will help us overcome our weariness.

As Hannah approaches the finish line, her father says, “This is where you think like a winner. If your legs are burning, let them burn. Your lungs may be tired, but they’re not done yet. Other runners are feeling the same thing….Keep your eyes on the finish line. I’m right here with you. I can see you winning!” Paul compares our life to a race. He tells us to let go of what lies behind and press on to take hold of the prize (Philippians 3:13). This is where you think like a winner. Races are won and lost in the mind before they are won or lost anywhere else. Paul tells us to lay aside the sin that so easily entangles (Hebrews 12:1-3). We are running a race. We are surrounded by a crowd of witnesses, cheering us on–all those believers that have gone before. We’re going to be tired. We’re going to be weary. Our strength is going to be nearly gone. Our legs are going to burn. Our lungs are going to feel as if they’re about to explode….and still we need to keep running. We fix our eyes on the finish line. We look to what lies ahead. We keep our eyes on the prize. It’s Jesus there running along side us. It’s Jesus cheering us on as this father did in the movie.

If you haven’t seen the movie Overcomer, I encourage you to watch it. But bring lots of tissues! It’s definitely a tearjerker. Whether I like to run or not, I’m in a race. It’s a race of faith. There are lots of negative voices trying to get me to give up. There are lots of obstacles in my path trying to slow me down. At times, this race takes a lot longer than I think it will. I start it as if it’s a sprint, but it’s a marathon. There may be times when I don’t run as quickly. There are going to be times when I am weary…times when the trials and tribulations seem almost too much. But those are the times that I need to hear the voice of my heavenly Father saying, “Keep your eyes on the finish line. I’m right here with you. I can see you winning! Run, my daughter!” So I press on. I keep going. I get up, and I keep my routine. I do it again and again and again. And each day, I go to God for strength and for rest and for refreshment. He’s the only one who can heal my weariness.