Are you weary of being weary? Most likely, at this moment, 99.9% of us are. The usual weariness of life has been compounded by politics, natural disasters, and the health turmoil our world continues to face daily. No doubt, most of us go to bed each night and wake up each morning wondering when it will all end.
Weariness comes in many forms: physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental. It can leave us feeling depleted, depressed, and wondering if we can take one more step, wake up one more day, or do one more task. We are not alone in our struggle with weariness. Not only is it a common bond among our fellow human beings, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself felt the weight of weariness in all of its forms. Knowing we are not alone in our struggle already offers some encouragement.
As women, we play many roles, often simultaneously: daughter, sister, wife, mother, caregiver, counselor, friend, and it goes on. Add to that list of roles that more women than ever are working outside the home, which creates an environment heavy with weariness. There is no need to go through the list of everything that brings us weariness; we know it all too well. The lonely single woman, and yet, her time is taken advantage of by so many. The young married woman, struggling to communicate with the person she thought she married. The young mom, married or single woman who is depleted physically and hanging on by a thread. The seasoned mom watching her children leave the nest and fly on their own. The widow who doesn’t know where she fits anymore or what her role is. The elderly woman who is homebound and feeling forgotten or useless. Each phase of life brings its type of weariness.
The question is not, “Are you weary?” but what do you do with your weariness? How do you deal with it? Will it ever go away? As women, we often turn to our girlfriends, moms, and sisters to seek compassion, sympathy, and empathy. God has given us these women in our lives to encourage us (I Thessalonians 5:11 and Proverbs 27:9), but we cannot rely solely on them to help us in our battle with weariness. We must rely on the One who identifies with all of our weariness and has the solution (Hebrews 4:14-16). We must run to Jesus every single time.
Jesus knew weariness even beyond what we experience. We cannot imagine the weariness and heaviness He must have felt, leaving the glory, beauty, and perfection of heaven to come down to earth for our sakes. His weariness over people slogging it out in their sinful path toward destruction caused Him to weep! (Luke 19:41-44) Not a single one of us can even come close to what He was feeling in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-42 and Luke 22:39-46). He had just spent three years of His earthly life traveling non-stop as a preacher, teacher, healer, and Savior. Everywhere He went, some believed, and some rejected.
Among His disciples, there was a traitor, and He had known it from the beginning. Physical weariness collided with extreme emotional distress at what loomed in front of Him, suffering the ultimate pain, torture, death, and momentary rejection by His Father while He alone walked through the valley of the shadow of death. Think of that, the One who promises us in Psalm 23 to walk through that dark and painful valley with us walked it alone with no one to lean on, help, comfort, and encourage. Alone and bearing the greatest burden, suffering the worst pain, He chose it all for you and me. When we comprehend that and let it penetrate deep within us, weariness flees, even if but for a moment.
Suffice it to say, Jesus knows our weariness, every square inch of it! And He invites us to collapse on Him time and time again. There is no debit card keeping track every time we swipe it, and then, suddenly, we are out of chances to come to Him because our account has run dry. Not at all. It is an open invitation to come and come and come.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” ~Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)
There is only one solution to our weariness here on this earth. We must come to Jesus. It’s that simple and that complex. We are masters at turning the simple upside down and making it a tangled web of complexity as humans. God, on the other hand, delights in doing just the opposite. We must not lose sight of the forest for the trees. It comes down to this, will we believe what He says and do it, or will we continue to stumble along our own way, weary and confused, but telling everyone we meet, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”
Weariness will never evaporate from our earthly lives. It will always be hanging onto us, lurking around every mile marker we pass on our journey through life. Frankly, nowhere in the Bible does God promise to remove weariness or the situations that bring it into our lives. What He does promise is a shoulder to cry on (I Peter 5:7), a hand to help us navigate the path (Psalm 77), a listening ear (II Samuel 22:7), and 24/7 access to His grace, love, and forgiveness (Ephesians 2:4-10).
Where does our help come from? It comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth! (Psalm 121:1-2) Death will be our final weariness. At the sight of Jesus on the other side, all weariness will fade, and we will never know it again for all of eternity! (Revelation 21:1-4) Hallelujah, Praise the Lamb Who was slain, Who is and was and is to come, Hallelujah!
Melissa Holmquist is a Pastor’s wife and mother of four in St Johns, MI.
