Weariness

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28 (NLT)

A few years ago, I was battling an unknown medical condition which affected my gut for many months. The unfortunate reality was that I could maintain focus and have limited issues during the day. But, at night, my gut never seemed to sleep very soundly. It just hurt. This left me feeling very tired most days. Maybe you’ve faced something similar. Maybe (hopefully) not a medical issue, but just feeling exhausted from this battle we call life.

Constantly being tired has several negative consequences, as you may imagine. Your short-term memory doesn’t seem to work so well. The ability to recall even simple things seems to get stuck. Your patience wears thin really fast. That one person who you often times could tolerate suddenly seems a whole lot less tolerable. You can get really irritable. Things that you used to let slide, or even laugh at, now get your blood boiling. And, perhaps the worst part of it, being constantly tired steals much of the joy in life. Now, don’t hear me wrong, I’ve got plenty of joy – I have Jesus after all! But taking pleasure in many things seems to take more effort.

If you can relate to these things, then you too may be way too weary today. But, hold on, Jesus has something for us. As He said in our verse today, Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Isn’t that an amazing promise? When we’re feeling overwhelmed with life, Jesus provides that much needed rest.

Now, let me clarify something. Jesus isn’t talking about physical rest. And, He’s not really offering rest from self-inflicted tiredness. (You know, staying up way too late gaming, watching TV, binging on Netflix, etc.) Jesus is talking about rejuvenating our life with His Holy Spirit when the day-to-day service to others is wearing us down. We need to regularly spend time with Jesus and let Him infuse our faith with His energy, His joy.

So, today, and every day, spend time with Jesus. Though you may be physically tired, let Him recharge your faith, renew your joy, and keep you topped off with the Holy Spirit.

Oh, and just to fill in the blank, the medical issue was caused by a malfunctioning gallbladder. It’s gone now, and I feel oh so much better.

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