I had just experienced another night in which my almost four-year-old child would not sleep through the night and was up multiple times. My children had been fighting all day. My attempt at making dinner did not work out the way I had planned. I still needed to fold the laundry before bed. I was weary. As many others have, I have learned Galatians 6:9: And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. So many times, I have told God, “I’m sorry, Lord, but I am weary. I know You tell me not to be weary. I know that this is the place You have for me and that these are the children You have for me, but I am weary.” I was …weary in well doing…
The dictionary defines weary as “feeling or showing tiredness, especially as a result of excessive exertion or lack of sleep.” I can definitely attest to being tired as a result of excessive exertion or lack of sleep. Surely, I cannot be the only person who has ever gotten weary. I started looking for other places in the Bible that talked about being weary. In Isaiah, we are told that Even the youths shall faint and be weary,… David described himself as being weary several times in the Psalms. I mulled over this for a while. If we should not get weary, then why would the Bible tell us that people will get weary?
Then, I was reminded of another verse in the Bible. Matthew 11:28 says, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. …all ye that labour… sounds similar to excessive exertion to me! I thought for a few moments about how these verses fit together as well as how they fit with other verses in other places in the Bible. I had always read Galatians 6:9 and thought it said, “And let us not GROW weary in well doing…,” with the emphasis being on my own weariness. However, the verse actually reads, And let us not be weary in well doing:…
God knows that we are going to become weary. Life is hard sometimes. Ministry work is hard sometimes. The key is not to stay weary. When we get weary, we need to follow the instructions in Matthew 11:28: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,… Verse 29 says that we will get weary, but we can go to Him and find rest unto our souls. Isaiah 40:30 tells us that Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: However, verse 31 says, 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. The word renew is used. When we use all of our strength, the Lord will renew it!
Becoming weary is totally normal. Certainly, we all will find ourselves there at some time in our lives. In fact, we probably will find ourselves there more than a few times. We may be halted in our steps because of weariness. Weariness may be a stop in the road, but let us not stay there. We can continue after we go to the Lord and allow Him to give us rest and to renew our strength!
by Vicki Voorhis
