Feeling a little weary this morning, I pulled out my trusty Bible for some inspiration. I initially thought of two well-loved verses on the subject:
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest..." Matthew 11:28
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up..." Galatians 6:9
The next logical step was to look up "weary" in the online concordance, where I fully anticipated reading additional words of comfort and encouragement as I start my day. I probably should have filtered the search to start in the New Testament, but I didn't. Hmmm...maybe that was part of God's plan. Here's the very first verse I saw:
"When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind..." Deuteronomy 25:18
Well! How's that for encouraging?! It certainly got my attention! Guess I won't need that second (or third) cup of coffee this morning! But (surprise!) I found great inspiration here. First, I just have to smile when I see a verse that is so different from what I was expecting. A little jolt here and there is a good thing. I picture someone who should be walking with a group, but in their fatigue just want to sit and rest a bit before they catch back up to the others [cue scary movie music, please]. They hear these words and miraculously find a sudden boost of adrenaline as they spring to rejoin the group in near-record time!
On a more serious note, I realize that weariness drags you down. Just so you know, my point is not to have a discourse on this verse in Deuteronomy - you can study it out on your own and have your own discourse if you so desire. But in it's basic context, we see that those who grew weary also became vulnerable. Growing weary needs to be taken seriously; do whatever you need to get un-weary. Whether it is praying, reading your Bible, talking with a friend, doing something fun (or if you are like me, all the above), don't let yourself stay in a weary state.
Yes, we need encouragement and inspiration. I love that God (and my friends) understand me and show me grace and kindness on a daily basis. But sometimes...just sometimes...we just need a little kick to catch back up to the group.
