Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Lord, I Am Tired

GALATIANS 6:9-10 – And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

 

THEME OF THE DAY:  LORD, I AM TIRED.  Today’s nugget theme is a prayer every Christian has sent to heaven.  Yes, all human beings get tired, but for the Christian, there is a whole different dimension of weariness that is foreign to the unbeliever.  In the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke), the Lord Jesus in one simple statement defined the whole of the Christian life and what it means to be a Christian.  I think Christians, including this one, living in the affluence and comfort of the western world need to spend much time meditating on His Words, and honestly ask, “Is it I, Lord?” by way of self-examination.  Here is Luke’s rendering – And Jesus said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? (Luke 9:23-25). So, a quick question, would denying oneself, enduring the pain of dying to self (taking up his cross), and unswerving obedience to the Lord’s commands be exhausting?  Extremely.  Like nothing else we have done in life.  The Christian life is that demanding.

 

There is a price to pay to make a difference for Christ in our families, churches, and communities. It is weariness. Jesus ministered to the woman at the well when He was physically spent – Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour (John 4:1-6).  R. Kent Hughes comments on this section of John’s gospel, “Perhaps our Lord had His eyes closed as He reclined by the well when He heard the approaching footfall of another person. He looked up and saw a Samaritan woman! It would have been easy to rationalize in this situation. ‘I have been ministering to thousands, and I am tired. I just got to relax!’ That choice was available to Jesus, but that is not what He did. Our Lord went for the heart of this woman, and we have here one of the most glorious cases of spiritual aggression in all of Scripture! Jesus reached out to others even when He was at the edge of physical exhaustion.”  This seasoned pastor went on to say, “We will never do great things for God until we have learned to minister when we are tired. In spiritual realities we need to learn to keep reaching out when we are tired. It is has been my experience that quite often I have been most used when I was at the point of exhaustion. We will never do great things for God until we learn to minister when we have tired hearts!”

 

The example of Jesus, the scripture of the day, and the wise words from the veteran pastor R. Kent Hughes remind us that to deny self, say “no” to the world, and put the interests of Christ and others ahead of our own necessitates extreme self-sacrifice. No one makes a difference for Christ who is not willing to pay the high price of exhausting effort, but remember this encouraging and strengthening truth from Nehemiah, truth when applied will help us when we pray, “Lord, I am tired” – Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10).

 

PRAYER: “Father, may I know the strength that comes from You that revives my weary soul.”

 

QUOTE: “There is a price to pay if we are to make a difference for Christ in this world. One is fatigue.”

 

In the affection of Christ Jesus,

 

Pastor Jim