Weariness. Jesus understood the suffering of those who feel it.
We can hear the compassion in Jesus’ voice when He said in Matthew 11:28, “”Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” He knew the weight this spirit can put upon His people. He offers us the solution: Himself.
Isaiah 40 says, “The LORD is the everlasting God…He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
To the exhausted, God offers His help. How do we tap into that? We do it by putting our hope in Him. This is the picture of binding ourselves to God. Picture a braid. We’re one of the strands. The Godhead represent strands as well. We gain strength as we are bound together with God, twisted together with Him. When we do this, He “increases the power of the weak.” What does this mean? It means God restores our ability to accomplish all that He calls us to do. He gives us vigor. He enlarges our capacity. He energizes us. With His help, we can run and not grow weary.
Let’s get practical. How do we weave ourselves together with God when we feel weary? We do this by going to Him. Don’t just ignore the weariness. How often I have needlessly carried the heavy burden of weariness all day. It can feel like we’re carrying the weight of the world on our backs, can’t it? The good news is that it isn’t necessary! We have been given authority by God to trample on snakes and scorpions. That is exactly what the spirit of slumber is. A demonic spirit. One of the best ways I know to resist this spirit is to turn on some worship music. Worship God right in your own home. Even if we exert much energy in worship, we will find our vitality returning in God’s presence. Get up on your feet when you discern this spirit operating. Use your sword. Declare out loud, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Two of the most defeating things we can do when we discern the spirit of slumber operating is to: 1): flee, and 2): ignore it. It can be SOOOOOO tempting to flee to places of physical rest, thinking that will solve the problem. We can turn on the TV, but the relief it gives is temporary and deceptive. It solves nothing, and we’ll battle the fatigue again the next time we try to do God’s work. Let’s face it. Resist it, and it will flee. If it comes back, resist it again. If it takes 6 months, resist it every time. It will get better. It only operates where it is allowed to operate.
May the Joy of the Lord be your strength today,
Arlene
Walk Whole 