Have you ever made a weariness list? I did that once. Feeling overwhelmed, I decided to list all my circumstances to identify the cause of my weariness.

You know what weariness is. Exhaustion. Disillusionment. These culprits immobilize us. We want to sit down and stay there—if only we could. But commitments and challenges keep us moving along in our weariness.

On that weary day I’d come to my prayer cubby needing encouragement. I began my Bible reading where I’d left off, finishing Proverbs and continuing through Ecclesiastes. That didn’t encourage me. Instead, I grieved over the heart-breaking commentary on the life of Solomon.

The whole world sought audience with the king to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart (1 Kings 10:24). All the kings of the earth came to hear his wisdom (2 Chronicles 9:23).

How could it happen that this man so blessed by God with unmatched wisdom could fall away? We’re told he loved many foreign women and held fast to them in love…and his wives led him astray.

“As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of his father David had been…he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done…Solomon built a high place…for all his foreign wives…The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice” (see 1 Kings 11:4-13 NIV).

Solomon didn’t end well. Knowing this magnified my weariness. If this could happen to an amazing man like Solomon, where can ordinary people like me find hope?

Reviewing the dozen items on my weariness list, I noticed only a few involved physical tiredness. The rest resulted from mental and emotional drain. Mostly worry and fear—the consequence of my thought processes.

Reviewing the dozen items on my weariness list, I noticed only a few involved physical tiredness. The rest resulted from mental and emotional drain. Mostly worry and fear—the consequence of my thought processes. Click To Tweet

I reminded self that God’s Word has plenty to say about those joy-stealers.

“What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee” (Psalm 56:3).

“The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them” (Psalm 34:7).

“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9).

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10).

“For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:11-12).

“I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).

Where can ordinary people like me find hope? In Christ alone. In desperation I brought my circumstances to him.

Lord, my life is chaos. My best effort has proved insufficient to handle everything. Today, I set my heart to seek you. You are my keeper. If you do not keep me, life is hopeless. You are my hope and my confidence. Your strength is adequate and your grace is sufficient.”

Hear the Lord saying, “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24).

Worry and fear—and the weariness they bring—will not master me!

“Now know I that the Lord saveth his annointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:6-7).

I cannot trust the flesh. It continues to fail me. Today I renounce fear, worry, and weariness. I choose to embrace what lies before me, remembering the name of the Lord my God and trusting in the saving strength of his mighty right hand.

There aren’t many pros or cons of making a weariness list. We identify the cause of our weariness, but we tend to stay in that miserable place.

Only make a weariness list if you’re willing to give all those circumstances to Jesus, choose to follow him wholeheartedly, and live in the joy of his presence. Click To Tweet

Only make a weariness list if you’re willing to give all those circumstances to Jesus, choose to follow him wholeheartedly, and live in the joy of his presence.

Goodbye, weariness. Welcome, joy!

Tell me about a time when you struggled with weariness and how our mighty Savior delivered you. And Please share this with your friends!

© Dianne Barker 2019