Have you ever made a weariness list? I did that once. Feeling\noverwhelmed, I decided to list all my circumstances to identify the cause of my\nweariness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You know what weariness is. Exhaustion. Disillusionment.\nThese culprits immobilize us. We want to sit down and stay there\u2014if only we\ncould. But commitments and challenges keep us moving along in our weariness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On that weary day I\u2019d come to my prayer cubby needing\nencouragement. I began my Bible reading where I\u2019d left off, finishing Proverbs\nand continuing through Ecclesiastes. That didn\u2019t encourage me. Instead, I\ngrieved over the heart-breaking commentary on the life of Solomon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The whole world sought audience with the king to hear the wisdom\nGod had put in his heart (1 Kings 10:24). All the kings of the earth came to\nhear his wisdom (2 Chronicles 9:23).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How could it happen that this man so blessed by God with\nunmatched wisdom could fall away? We\u2019re told he loved many foreign women and held\nfast to them in love\u2026and his wives led him astray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs 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\u2026he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done\u2026Solomon built a high place\u2026for all his foreign wives\u2026The 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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solomon didn\u2019t end well. Knowing this magnified my\nweariness. If this could happen to an amazing\nman like Solomon, where can ordinary people like me find hope?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2014the consequence of my thought processes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2014the consequence of my thought processes. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n I reminded self that God\u2019s Word has plenty to say about those joy-stealers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat time I am afraid, I will trust in thee\u201d (Psalm 56:3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear\nhim, and delivereth them\u201d (Psalm 34:7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHave not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage;\nbe not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee\nwhithersoever thou goest\u201d (Joshua 1:9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous\nrunneth into it, and is safe\u201d (Proverbs 18:10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee\nin all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy\nfoot against a stone\u201d (Psalm 91:11-12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou,\nLord, only makest me dwell in safety\u201d (Psalm 4:8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where can ordinary people like me find hope? In Christ\nalone. In desperation I brought my circumstances to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lord, my life is\nchaos. My best effort has proved insufficient to handle everything. Today, I\nset my heart to seek you. You are my keeper. If you do not keep me, life is\nhopeless. You are my hope and my confidence. Your strength is adequate and your\ngrace is sufficient.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hear the Lord saying, \u201cNo 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\u201d (Matthew 6:24).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Worry and fear\u2014and the weariness they bring\u2014will not master me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow 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\u201d (Psalm 20:6-7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only make a weariness list if you\u2019re willing to give all those circumstances to Jesus, choose to follow him wholeheartedly, and live in the joy of his presence. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n Only make a weariness list if you\u2019re willing to give all those circumstances to Jesus, choose to follow him wholeheartedly, and live in the joy of his presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Goodbye, weariness. Welcome, joy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tell me about a time when you struggled with weariness and how our mighty Savior delivered you. And Please share this with your friends!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a9 Dianne Barker 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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\u2014if only we could. But commitments and challenges keep us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[437,9,439,42,5,438,168,41],"class_list":["post-1168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-a-weariness-list-the-pros-and-cons","tag-dianne-barker","tag-disillusionment","tag-fear","tag-hope","tag-living-the-maximum-life","tag-solomon","tag-worry"],"yoast_head":"\n