Overcoming Weariness: Finding Strength in Faith
Weariness - we all experience it; it can get the best of us.
My maternal grandmother was a very spiritual woman. She went to church every Sunday morning, evening, and Wednesday night. She read her Bible, and it was always nearby. She prayed before every meal and for every situation or problem in her family. As her first grandchild, I was directly exposed to her faith in God. She got me my first Bible and taught me how to pray. Her kindness and goodness outshined those traits of everyone I have known. But she could also become weary at certain times.
One day, my cousins and I began to irritate Grandma with noise and antics. She attempted to correct us several times, but we finally reached her ultimate threshold of frustration. “You kids are making me tired!” she suddenly exclaimed. We all froze in place. We knew we had gone too far.
We made her tired. She had become weary of us. At that moment, I knew my grandma was not a superhero with unlimited love power for her children. She was human, like everyone else in the world.
Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, had a similar experience.
Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
Genesis 27:46
Esau’s wives made Rebekah weary from the hassles she had endured from these heathen wives.
Weariness happens when we need rest or relief and we do not get it. Working at a repetitive task and making little progress can wear you out. We are finite creatures and we eventually run out of energy, even for tasks we desire to do. This is the meaning of “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
We complain about stress, but it is really weariness that needs rest. Many attempt to mitigate the stress (weariness) by taking a vacation or a holiday. Sometimes those vacations are even more wearying, and we return to work just to get rest from the vacation. On a lesser scale, we take breaks. We stop our activity, seeking to do something different, hoping that will meet our need for rest. But a break is temporary and does not have a lasting effect.
If weariness goes too far and the need for rest is not met, many folks just quit. If you are found taking a break too often, others will say you are lazy.
Have you ever considered that the commandment of Sabbath was created for us to get rest? God created us and He knows we need rest to live and maintain our lives. The primary commandment of Sabbath is to rest. God knows we need rest each week. Those who do not keep the commandment of Sabbath fail to get the rest and spiritual refreshing they desperately need.
Daily, we need food and water for nourishment as fuel for our bodies. We also need sleep (full rest). A lack of sleep will harm your mind as well as wear out your body. As you age, the damage done from a lack of sleep can bring about your early demise.
Have you ever considered the essential spiritual food that we need each week as well? A systematic pattern of His word and prayer is essential to our spiritual walk. God gave us the Sabbath to push aside the worldly concerns and to focus on Him. This is when we open our mind and spirit to God, who gives us “peace beyond our understanding.” God’s peace is rest from this world. Failing to trust God, walk with Him, or failing to lean on His understanding will deprive us of the very spiritual food and drink we need – the power of God.
Those who are spiritually weary have little faith and begin to lose hope.
so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
1 Corinthians 2:5
Sometimes weariness comes from carrying a burden for too long. The average person can lift items and move them about, but if you must carry them for too long, you suffer weariness. You must lay the burden down to recover your strength.
Have you ever considered that the Lord wants to exchange your burdens with His? He says His yoke (burden) is light and He is willing to bear our burdens.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28–30
“For I satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes.”
Jeremiah 31:25
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.
Isaiah 40:28
Did you know that weariness can affect a group of people or even a nation? A rote routine can easily weary a group. A nation facing an on-going war can suffer from “war weariness,” which is a very serious issue for sustaining the defense of a nation. There is also a similar weariness for God’s people. It is when the believers lose heart for the work of the Lord or for being part of the spiritual battle we fight.
We are instructed to love God with all of our heart, soul, and might, but how can we do that if we grow weary? The same question could be asked for every commandment.
God knows that we can grow weary and He instructs us about how to maintain our service and ensure we have adequate rest.
He has instructed us to do all work toward Him, not others (other people wear you out, remember?). He has set up a break schedule for us daily. He has set up a rest time each week. He even gives us festivals from spring to fall each year—festivals of rest and refreshing.
We are instructed to give Him our weakness and He will give us His strength.
Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.
Isaiah 40:31
One of my favorite quips seems appropriate at this moment.
It is hard to soar like an eagle when you are working with a bunch of turkeys.
Weariness will ground an eagle.
How can we continue to be strengthened and empowered by God to continue and not become weary? How can we follow Paul’s counsel?
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
Galatians 6:9
But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.
2 Thessalonians 3:13
How do we achieve the compliment that Yeshua gave the Ephesian believers?
“I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance… and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary.”
Revelation 2:2–3
Jeremiah, the prophet, poses the same key question.
“If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses?”
Jeremiah 12:5
If we weary in a time of peace, how will we perform in a time of war? If we are overcome now before the Great Tribulation begins, then how will we overcome in the days of the Great Tribulation?
Let us pursue that question and determine what we must do to be empowered by God to go beyond that which wearies us.
Paul spoke to the Corinthian believers, explaining how he was able to minister to them.
And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
1 Corinthians 2:1–5
Paul says that the empowerment we seek in our faith is not according to any wisdom of men. He says that the power that overcame his own weakness, fear and trembling was something that the Messiah possessed, which was given to him by the Spirit.
Consider this. In all of the testimony we have concerning the Messiah, when did He weary to the point of giving up or quitting? Was it when He went without food for 40 days in the wilderness, followed by the temptation of Satan? No.
Was it when the disciples did not quite believe in Him and He knew not to trust any man? No. Yeshua trusted only God; He knew what was in the hearts of men.
But Yeshua, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.
John 2:24–25
Did He grow weary in the Garden of Gethsemane as He waited to be arrested?
And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Matthew 26:37–39
Even at this deepest moment, He relinquished His will to God and did not quit. His weariness did not overpower Him. He sought strength in obeying His Father.
Then there was His execution. After being hung on the cross, through the pain and agony, He still ministered to another man and asked for forgiveness of those who condemned Him.
Then, after death, He arose. Yeshua had the power of God (being God), and He demonstrated it beyond anything this world or the devil could throw at Him.
Is there a way to overcome weariness? Paul says the power of God comes from the same power that Yeshua demonstrated when He was crucified. But then Paul explains how we can have it as well.
Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
1 Corinthians 2:6–8
The power of God is also the wisdom of God, but God’s wisdom is not like the wisdom of this world. Paul says God’s wisdom existed before the world was ever formed. It is a wisdom that is hidden and has been planned and destined for us.
So the great question for us is how can we access this wisdom and experience this power of God. Paul says you cannot see it; you have never heard it before, nor can you imagine it. It is received directly by having the Spirit of God in you.
Every person has some distinct parts that make them the person they are. First, you have a body; this is your physical appearance and how you are transported through life. Secondly, you have a mind and your identity. You also have your emotions and feelings. Then you have your will, your decision-making apparatus. The combination of your mind, emotions, and will constitutes you as a “living soul.” But you also have a spirit. In your walk before God, your spirit and your body vie for control of your soul. If you follow your lusts, your soul suffers. If you follow the spiritual side, seeking God, then you will experience the life He has planned for you. This is the key to being empowered by God.
For to us God revealed them [“things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him” v.9] through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
1 Corinthians 2:10
For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 2:11
Paul makes a very good point here. You cannot really know another person, unless the spirit of that person is in you. Nor can anyone else truly know you unless your spirit is in them. This is how we can know the power of God and His wisdom, by having His Spirit in us.
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
1 Corinthians 2:12–13
However, if you receive God’s Spirit and then continue to act like a natural man, never learning how to live by the Spirit of God, then your life will be lived out in your own strength. Eventually, you will get weary. Furthermore, attempting to work with God’s wisdom and His power while not yielded to God will not work. It will not make sense. It will do you no good. You cannot use His gifts for your own ends.
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
1 Corinthians 2:14
There is a story of a man named Simon in Acts 8:9–21 who was a magician. When he saw the power of God demonstrated, he sought to purchase it in a worldly way. Peter rebuked him for pursuing God’s power in a worldly way and not by the Spirit.
When you accept that God’s ways are higher than yours and pray for His help, He will direct you and provide what you need to accomplish your challenges.
But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.
1 Corinthians 2:15
I can personally testify that what Paul said is true. In particular, I have experienced how the Holy Spirit can come upon me and speak through my mouth to my fellow believers. I have experienced in many of the teachings I have given that I was learning the same things at the very moment my mouth spoke.
Have I read the Bible and done Bible study? Sure I have, but the teaching that has come out of my mouth afterwards was not my thoughts or understanding from my study. It became clear and understandable upon hearing my own voice. And given the positive response to my teaching, I assure others that it was the Spirit of God, not me, that spoke. This is what Paul spoke of when he spoke to the Corinthians.
The work of God’s Spirit is truly a gift; it is not a developed skill from a school or study. Paul goes on to say that there are other gifts of the Spirit that empower believers to do other things for the benefit of other believers.
Paul does not want us to be ignorant of these things. He wants us to be empowered in our faith like him. This is what he teaches to the Corinthians in Chapters 12 and 13.
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware.
1 Corinthians 12:1
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
1 Corinthians 12:4–11
This empowerment of believers by God’s Spirit can serve in a variety of ways, have a variety of effects, and appear in different ways; the common element is One God and His One Spirit.
There are many brethren who have experienced some of this gifting. According to their testimonies, they are able to perform, not in a natural way, but in a powerful, spiritual way. You should take note of this part of their testimony. They do not experience any form of weariness while being led of the Spirit.
That is my testimony as well when I am teaching. I do not experience weariness or fatigue when I am teaching. I feel like I am in a bubble of sorts, kept from everything around me. It seems that nothing can harm me or disturb me.
While we are sharing personal testimony, I must share one additional example.
As many of you know, I share a program once a week on the internet, called “Messianic World Update.” Each week, I monitor the news from Israel and the Middle East, gleaning every event that is reported, looking for the elements that trend toward the prophecies of the end-times. God has given me to understand certain prophecies that set the stage for the Great Tribulation and the events of the Great Tribulation. It is not new information; it is simply the steps leading to the prophecies being fulfilled.
On a daily basis, I watch and read the news—all of it. Many brethren are simply not able to do it. It wears them out, it is depressing, or it is tiring to keep it going. Somehow God empowers me to focus and process it all, and to then summarize and share the salient points that point toward future prophecies. Humbly, I say to you that I am not that smart. But I use the gift of the Spirit to bring the material forward for the benefit of my brethren. Apparently many have benefited, evidenced by the thank you notes and comments shared with me.
For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
1 Corinthians 12:8
Paul says there are some gifts greater than others, and we should desire those in particular.
But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way.
1 Corinthians 12:31
There is one particular gift that is the most powerful when dealing with weariness. Listen to how Paul describes it.
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
1 Corinthians 12:1–3
Love is the one element of our faith that God demonstrated through the Messiah. Because of His love for us, He did not turn away from being sacrificed for us. Love is how we keep all of God’s Law. When we love God, we do not sin against Him. When we love our neighbor, we do not sin against our neighbor.
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Romans 13:10
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:4–7
When you love like this, it is by the empowerment of God’s Spirit and you do not weary.
This is the only place where Paul spoke of this kind of walk in the Spirit.
Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
Romans 12:9–18
Examine for yourself where you become weary and when you become weary. An honest assessment will show you that you are a little short of the love part of your life. Think about what Yeshua did for you and how He loves you now even today. In doing so, you will become empowered by Him to continue beyond your strength, to not be weary.
Don’t weary; be happy. ■
Shalom,
Article written by Monte Judah
* Scripture references from the NASB95
