Tired and Weary

I feel tired because ____________________________? I recently asked this question on facebook and here are some of the answers I got:
---Brain Tumors

---Working 72 hours a week

---Because I lead two tours at the collage, help with cooking meals, and woke up at 4:45am to make them breakfast before they left.

--- I've got a bunch of things I get worn out about:1) I don't let go of work related worries. 2) I try to accomplish spiritual things in my own strength. 3) I procrastinate, feel guilty about it, and have too much to finish at the last minute 4) I don't eat right {happening less often these days} I've got lots more if you want them. #3 is my biggest though.

How would you answer that question? What wears you down and sucks the life from you?

For me, in my life, it’s been many things . . . when my four boys were little - some days would feel like an eternity, with endless diapers, laundry, spilled milk and runny noses. When they were teenagers, it was a different weariness - watching them drive, go on a date, football injuries, school work and many late late nights. And now I have other things that invade my life and pull me into the depths of exhaustion – juggling work and home, hurting people, not enough money, a son that is going off to war, family vacation, a self-employed husband and the list goes on and on.

The Psalmist says in 63:1 “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.”

I can identify with the author of this Psalm. My soul is thirsty and my whole body longs for God. I long to see him, to have an intimate relationship with Him in this parched and weary land I find myself in . . .

I love face to face conversations. If I have a choice of talking on the phone or meeting face to face I will choose face to face any day. I like to watch people’s reactions to things I say, I like to see their facial expressions as they talk about something that is important to them.

And I long for that kind of relationship with Jesus. I want to hear Him laugh, to see His face and His reactions when I am speaking with Him. I want to know that He hears me and that He knows me. Just recently I had the opportunity to take a walk with my Dad (a rare treat). We took a nice stroll up to a nearby Starbucks and sat and talked for a couple of hours over a good cup of coffee(actually I had tea and he had coffee). Oh, how I long to do that with my heavenly Father.

Do you ever long for that too?

In verses 6-8 of that same chapter the author goes on to say, “I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely.”

What does it look like to lie awake at night thinking of God? Meditating on Him through the night? I don’t know about you but when I lie awake at night it’s because I’m worried over something or I have too many things on my plate and I’m trying to make sure that I don’t forget any of them. I don't lie awake because I'm thinking of God.

When I’m in a dry and weary land, when I’m worn and fatigued my tendency is to spiral downward, to focus on my feelings, to focus on my exhaustion. But the Psalmist is saying here that we are to turn our hearts towards God remembering the things that He has done for us, how he has provided and met our needs. We then can KNOW that he is our helper. We can sing for JOY and rest in the shadow of His wings. Meditating causes us to cling to the only ONE that can truly satisfy us. And we will find REST in His strong capable hands.
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So my weary friend turn your heart towards God and allow Him to qench your raging thirst and satisfy your soul. He is all you need!