Exhaustion
I’m there. Not about to be. I’m there.
Exhausted.
Many others are too.
For almost three years, our world has been battling an illness we cannot see or touch. People died and are dying. People became very sick. People had life-altering changes to their lives. Life will never get back to normal after Covid. Never. For me, as a pastor, exhaustion became commonplace. Family, friends, health, the church, all were splintered, some even irreconcilably. Are we all alone? No. Where is God in and through this? Does He still care?
Yes, Jesus loves you very much. All throughout Scripture, we meet men and women who struggled with exhaustion. Now, I’m not talking about being “tired,” which happens to everyone each day. The Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah struggled with exhaustion. God’s message burned so bright in him, but he became “tired” of the ministry and the message he had to share. Jeremiah 20:9 reveals, “But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones, I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.” Jeremiah was down, but not out. He follows up this lament in 31:25: “For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.” Jeremiah found the answer for his exhaustion. What was it? Hang on, we’ll get to that.
Take heart, Jesus struggled with exhaustion, too (so, we can infer that exhaustion, in and of itself, is not sin)! In Luke 6, Matthew 14, and Mark 6, we see Jesus slipping away from the crowds and pouring out his heart to God. Why? He was exhausted. Exhausted from meeting the needs of the people, from being tugged on, and pulled here and there and exhaustion from healing, teaching, and telling. It took a toll on Jesus. It will take a toll on us, too. Each time Jesus struggled with exhaustion, however, we see him all alone praying - spending time with His Father. In Luke 6:12, we see Jesus slipping off “to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” Prayer is work, yet prayer works as we focus our energy off of self and onto God’s provision. In Luke 6, Jesus is praying for and about (or so we think) the 12 disciples who would carry His mission to the uttermost (that’s you and me). I can’t even imagine the exhaustion Jesus was feeling.
Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:9, encourages us to turn from our human fixes and lift our eyes to the Lord. He writes, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Jesus’ strength is made perfect through us when we are weak. Here is the key: exhaustion is a byproduct of our weakened spiritual condition. Adan and Eve were never exhausted…until they both chose to sin. David, pointing to Jesus in Psalm 4:8 reveals, “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, made me dwell in safety.” We are only healed through and by Jesus.
If we are as to, 2 Thessalonians 3:13 says, “Never tire in doing good,” then we need to stay connected with Christ. Colossians 1:29 echoes, “To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” You say, “So let me get this straight. In order to gain strength, I have to give myself to Christ.” Yes, you are correct. We are only as strong as the size which we allow God to fill within us. (Let that last sentence sink in.) If we give Him all of our life, He will take it and fill it with His strength, power, and fulfillment. But if we hold it in our own hands and work in our strength, we are more susceptible to physical and spiritual exhaustion.
Psalm 46:1 is helpful. “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” Read this verse over and over. When we are exhausted, our spiritual shields are lowered, making up prime candidates for an attack by the devil. We must cling to God and allow Him to fill us with His Spirit. In doing so, the Holy Spirit will fill us with power from on high. Then, and only then, will we be able to “approach the throne of grace with confidence,” as the writer of Hebrews encourages. Paul had his own struggles with exhaustion. In accounting his sufferings for Christ, he adds one little (and often overlooked) phrase, “in weariness and toils.”
But he concludes in Galatians 6:9 with these words: “Let us not grow weary in doing good.” Believers, today can stave off exhaustion through the power of Christ. How can we do this? Stay plugged into Christ. Read His Word. Study His Word. Memorize His Word. Pray back His Word. Love the church. By doing these simple assignments, you, too, can be strengthened and gain victory over exhaustion.