It’s approaching the end of the year. I don’t know how other people are feeling at the moment but there have been times in the last few weeks where I have felt weary and I was just waiting for the weekend to recharge.
Sometimes in life, we may be in a season where we are just waiting for the season to change. It may feel like we are in a tunnel and we are just waiting to reach the end in hopes that all our troubles will somehow be washed away at the end. What if certain seasons take years to change and what if the journey through the tunnel takes decades? Are we just going to be in despair the whole time? What if God calls you to stay where you are until He uproots you from where you are? These thoughts challenge me to then ask God how do I overcome this weariness? The encouragement for the weary hearts is that God does not leave us to our own means to find strength. It is a struggle to refresh us when inside, we feel empty. Corrie Ten-Boom puts it wonderfully when she wrote “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God you’ll be at rest.”
If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest.
The book of Psalms is filled with words of encouragement for us. Psalm 1:2-3 says that those who delight in the law of the Lord and meditates on His law day and night is like a tree planted by streams of water. In Psalm 121:1-2, the psalmist wrote “I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
When we see ourselves as trees planted by streams of water, we could also see it is the Holy Spirit being that stream of living water in us. It is not a gush of waterfall because it floods the field and trees die from overwatering. Streams are also constantly flowing so it is fresh supply that we receive each day. When we lift our eyes to the maker of heaven and earth, it reminds us that we are not the maker of this earth. As simple as it sounds, it is liberating to know that we are not in control of things on heaven and earth. We can trust the help that comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. If you are feeling weary now, spend some time reading Psalms and see how God’s Word will never fail to bring refreshment to its readers.
