EVER BEEN WEARY?
Have you ever been weary? Note that I used the word "weary" and not "tired". Weary is more than just being tired — at least in my mind. To be weary is to be burned out, to be careworn (don't you just love the imagery of that word!), dead-tired, whacked, world-weary, incapacitated, and rendered powerless. It's more than the need for a nap; more than the need for a good night's sleep. To be weary is to be tired in both body and mind. To be weary is a state of being, not just a pair of half-shut eyes and aching legs. It is fatigued helplessness. Ok, so given these parameters, what's your answer? Have you ever been weary?
Chances are that you have. It may be that your own particular walk to weariness happened with a climb up the hill of frantic schedules and pressing concerns. Or, could it be that a wave of dumped dreams has rolled in? Perhaps, you've found yourself in a pit surrounded by mile high stress cliffs too shear to climb. There are many roads to the land of weary, but only one way out.
I've been a bit weary lately. There's been a few sinkholes filled with stress, a bog or two of disapointment and a wilderness of worry to traverse. I guess the journey has slowed me down some. But then, in the hues of a brilliant fall-blue-cloudless-sky, God gave me a reminder of the way out of the land of weary.
Sheila and I were out for a walk and in the midst of some prayer time, I looked up. There it was — an eagle soaring on the updraft. It's wings were outstretched and motionless as he circled his way ever upward. There was no need for him to exert even an ounce of energy as he steadily climbed into the crisp blueness. The wind was doing it all for him; he just had to embrace it, with arms outstretched. This was a posture of submission to the wind, a pose that made it impossible to do anything other than go with the flow. And go he did!
Immediately, I thought of a passage from Isaiah:
"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" (Isaiah 40:29-31).
Everyone goes through times of weariness, even those of us who are young and in our prime. No one is immune to the weariness of life. But with the weariness comes the way out — by faith: "those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength!" Wow! They will "soar", and "run", and "not grow faint"! But the question is, how does an eagle soar? It soars on the power of the wind, not the power of it's own strength, right?
Interestingly, the word for wind can also be translated "spirit", or Spirit, as in the Holy Spirit--God's indwelling presences within the life of each follower of Christ. Therefore, the way out of the land of weariness is faith. It is soaring on the clear blue expanse of God's presence. Just as an eagle needs to submit to the updraft to soar, we also have to submit to the wind of God. Weariness comes from running on our own steam, in our own strength. Renewal, strength, and power comes from letting go of the problems, the stresses, the disappointments and allowing Jesus to lift us up. Then we can run and soar and go wherever it is God wants to lead us. I needed to be reminded of the "way out" today, what about you?
Prayer
Lord God, thanks for the reminder of eagles' wings. Thank you for gently unfolding my weary arms and for helping me to soar on the updraft of your love. Amen.
