Tired of being tired

Some days, I wake up tired. I feel tired of being tired, especially on bad days. Yes, that statement can relate to an underlying chronic illness but it can be just life happening. We live in a world that seems bent on spreading bad news, on some exhausting trends in politics, economics or social issues.Life can feel draining. People can be draining. The politicians have made earth look like a bad opera sung at the ampitheatre of death. How do you cope with tiredness? The tiredness that is so profound that it feels as if it is stemming from your bone marrow. There is no shortage of things that make you tired. Exhaustion that is wrapped up in burnout is not normal. When days have blended to feel like one long day of tiredness.

To me, it is the other side of the rainbow, where hope lives. One day, you just say to yourself; ‘I don’t want to be tired anymore. Whatever is making me tired, has to go.’ You have done all that you can using your own willpower, your intuition or what society told you was the right way of doing things. Your body, mind and spirit have been screaming that they are boiling over and one day, suddenly, you hear them and you decide to stop being tired. How powerful is that? You walk away from what has been draining you. The habits that have been derailing you can be changed. You turn over a new leaf. That’s where new beginnings are made. 

We get tired of being tired in jobs, professions and careers that we were not created to do. The issue of knowing our destinies is a big deal that we downplay a lot. The wise proverb that a fish can be called a failure for failing to climb a tree or to fly like an eagle because there is no water is true. If you are a fish, stay in water. If you are a bird, fly high. Doing the opposite of who you are, will cause you to be tired, exhausted and burnt out.

I know that as human beings we try to be as practical as possible and our egos also get in the way, we end up choosing what looks good on paper but it kills us inside. It’s the prestige of certain careers that may attract us to them but the reality is if you hate being there, you will always hate being there.

We already know the signs of exhaustion. We know what burnout looks like. But what does it mean spiritually? The story of prophet Elijah shows us what it can mean to be tired; 

1 Kings 19: 4-5 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, "It is enough;now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers. And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, "Arise and eat".

Prophet Elijah had shown the power of God in the previous chapter by slaughtering the prophets of baal. The enemy, Jezebel, was now pursuing him and Elijah became afraid and wished death upon himself. The Lord God sent an angel to give food to Elijah. That is very profound. Because every time we hear spiritual tiredness, we think it must be because you are not praying hard enough. It must be because you are weak. This verse shows us that sometimes, the tiredness is due to both physical and spiritual needs.

You are a spiritual being experiencing life on the physical, psychological and emotional level. Is your need just physical? Or is it time we looked at you as a whole being. To examine all parts of you so that you can have relief at the right angle of your being. If you are hungry, let’s feed you. Psychological problems, need counselling and maybe medicine. If it’s spiritual, let’s pray on it. 

Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was sorrowful and troubled. Read the gospel of Matthew 26:26-46. The hour of his crucifixion and death was drawing near. He had been dealing with the Pharisees, the zealots, the Roman government, the sick, the crowds and even the dead. That is a big ministry. But now, He was about to sacrifice His very life on the cross, for my salvation and yours. The ministry of Jesus Christ had already taken too much from Him but still more was being required. Isn’t that what life feels like some times for us? We give and give and life keeps taking.

One day you are so tired that you just want it all to stop. You just want to go a day where life is not asking much of you. But we will do what Jesus Christ did; we will pray for strength when we cannot find any in ourselves. We pray that the will of God takes over. Jesus Christ came to earth in human form which I believe is helpful as it allows Him to intercede on our behalf, for He knows what it is like to be tired and exhausted in a human body. Jesus Christ is merciful when we are tired and He tells us to lay our burdens onto Him.

Psalm 55:22 Cast your burdens on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

Moses got tired of the children of Israel’s whining and mourning, during the exodus. He got so very angry that he hit the rock at Meribah, twice, instead of telling the rock to yield its water like God had told him to do. 

Numbers 20:8 "Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle".

Living with negative people, can lead to emotional exhaustion. He had tried to prove who God was to the children of Israel on many occasions but they did not take heed. In his frustration, Moses struck the rock twice. Who is in your life that is causing you to be frustrated so much that you disobey God? Are you surrounded by negative people? Because they make simple things seem complicated and are not supportive. Be sure to be surrounded with love, care and support.

Being a leader can be exhausting and you need help. Moses got tired of being the only leader that he asked God to choose the seventy that were going to help him to lead the children of Israel.

Numbers 11:17 And I will come down and talk with you there.And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone.

God took the spirit of Moses and spread it over the 70 new elders. Now that’s how you ask; ‘Do you know who I am?’ Because if your Spirit can be shared over 70 individuals, that’s outstanding. So when you feel tired, have you reached your capacity or do you not know who you are? Is there strength in you to lead the difficult times of your life? Are you aware of how powerful and awesome you are? God did not use His own Spirit but what He had put in Moses was more than enough. Do you know how more than enough you are? How strong you are? Whatever path God has put you on, you can overcome.

Moses’ spiritual capacity was extraordinary. But he got tired just like we do. We need to learn to ask for help. I struggle with this. I am sure that I am not alone on this. It is a learned bad behaviour. Hyper-independence is usually learned in childhood when we looked for help and no one came to help us. We went through it alone and now asking for help seems weird. But if Moses could ask for help, so can I. Being tired is not a good feeling and if there is help, please ask for it. We all need a friend at times.

Do not be deceived because the devil can make us tired. Elijah was tired and wanted to die not because he had done anything wrong but his heart was in despair. Be aware of your inner dialogue. Are you tired because you worked very hard or because the enemy is leading you into despair? What are you tired of and is the battle not in your mind?

Growing weary is part of being human. Let us be wary that we don’t despair, and give up on things that are for us. You need to know which tiredness you are feeling; is it physical, mental or spiritual so that you can seek the right remedy. Don’t grow tired of doing the right thing. I know that we live in a world that seems to pay well for dubious acts but be of sound mind to know right from wrong, all the time. For what benefits a man to win the world but lose the Lord? There is growth and success on the other side of your tiredness.