Sunday, July 22, 2018 pm
Problems Christians Face
Let us Not Grow Weary
Today I want to address something we all struggle with from time to
time. And it is something
not wrong within itself, but how we deal with this is what matters.
Tonight, we want to talk about weariness.
a.
What is weariness –
defined as being extremely tired or fatigued.
It is exhaustion – whether
physical or mental.
b.
Weariness is a condition
that we need to address, or it can cause damage.
Weariness has been the cause of many accidents – work place,
automobiles and in the home.
It can cause us to let down our mental guard and make foolish mistakes
that tear things up. It may
cause us to quit instead of finishing some task.
It may cause us to do an inferior job.
Mental exhaustion can affect our mood negatively (we become abrasive),
cause us to reach a point where we just don’t care (indifference) or
even cause us to quit or give up.
c.
Spiritually, weariness
can cause us to let down our spiritual guard, neglect spiritual
responsibilities (personal and toward others), do inferior work or
perhaps even to give up. We
may not completely quit (though some do) but have quit in certain areas
– usually key areas to spiritual growth.
d.
There are a few
different words in Greek NT translated as weary –
i.
Hebrews 12:3 – consider
Him who endured hostility (Christ Jesus), “lest you become weary and
discouraged in your souls” – a word meaning to become exhausted.
Revelation 2:3 – the church at Ephesus was commended because they had
labored for the Lord’s sake, “and have not become weary”.
ii.
John 4:6 – Jesus was
wearied as He sat at the well.
A word that typically means to be tired and weary as a result of
hard work.
iii.
Among the troubles Paul
faced was weariness – 2 Corinthians 11:27 – a word meaning hard or
strenuous labor. NASB uses
the word “labor”
iv.
Galatians 6:9 – let us
not grow weary in doing good…
The word actually means to be disheartened.
(NASB – “let us not lose heart”) It is the idea of giving up.
2 Thessalonians 3:13 – let us not grow weary in doing good (same word)
e.
The Old Testament also
has some interesting passages using this English word (in the NKJV).
i.
Malachi 1:13 – Oh what a
weariness. Describing how
the ungrateful considered it wearisome to properly serve God.
ii.
Proverbs 26:15 – the
lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; it wearies him to bring it back to
his mouth. While an
exaggeration, it shows how the lazy is “wearied” without just reason.
He lets NOTHING weary him.
iii.
Isaiah 40:28-30,
Have you not known? Have you not
heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the
earth, Neither faints nor is
weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the
weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the
youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall
mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be
weary, They shall walk and
not faint.
iv.
Malachi 2:17 – you have
wearied the LORD with your words – to mentally fatigue Him.
Similarly, Isaiah 43:24 – “you
have burdened Me with your sins, you have wearied Me with your
iniquities.” Malachi & Isaiah
here are describing the depth of their ungodly attitudes and actions.
He will not put up with it much longer is the point.
a.
Weariness comes in many
different forms – physical exhaustion, mental struggles, concerns (and
worries) about our situation and others.
b.
Sometimes weariness is
caused by decisions we have made – we have put ourselves into high
stress situations through neglect, over-exertion or wrongful conduct.
c.
Other times, it is
caused by the impact of others in our lives.
They wear us out.
Some examples:
i.
Conflict with an ungodly world – we see the ungodliness around us and become disheartened.
We try to change the world for good, but most don’t want it.
Some even treat us spitefully and mock us.
It can wear on you!
ii.
Ingratitude of those we are serving – when we see the unthankful attitude of so many,
maybe even close to us, it wears on us.
iii.
Indifference of others – similar to the above.
The fact that people don’t care.
iv.
The size of the task before us – some work is never done.
Monumental tasks can exhaust us both physically and mentally.
v.
Opposition and constant criticism – when you are in an environment where no matter what
you do, its wrong and constantly criticized it will wear you out.
How many homes are broken and destroyed because of this.
The Bible is pretty clear – Colossians 3:21 – do not provoke your
children, lest they be discouraged. 1 Peter 3:7 – husbands love your
wives and dwell with them in understanding, etc.
vi.
Fatigue –
exhaustion. Non stop work
will wear on you. Especially
when one person has to do everything or carry more than his share of the
load.
vii.
Failure to see results – discouragement from this wears on the mind as well.
d.
Question: Am I guilty of
causing my brethren to be weary? In EVERY one of
the above causes, we can be guilty because we have failed to apply
scripture.
viii.
The ungodly attitudes and actions of our brethren are wearisome to godly
leaders, those struggling to do the right thing, and the weak.
ix.
Ingratitude
- The Bible is clear that we are to be thankful.
How many of us take advantage of our brethren and never SHOW
appreciation for what they have done for us (I’m not talking about the
“thank you” platitude).
x.
Indifference – when we don’t care God is not pleased.
When we see brethren struggling and we won’t give them a hand.
When we see error and we don’t
care. Etc.
xi.
The size of the task – we know that we all have individual loads to bear
(Galatians 6:5). There are
also burdens we are to help one another with (Galatians 6:2).
These “heavy loads” need to be addressed.
Do we help or leave it all up to them?
xii.
Opposition and constant criticism – are we putting stumbling blocks in the way of our
brethren? Do we look for the faults and constantly criticize every
little thing (and NEVER offer due praise)? Are we biting and devouring
one another? (Galatians 5:15) Are we trying to entrap our brethren, or
set them up for failure, rather than encourage them?
Jesus warned about stumbling blocks – Mark 9:42
xiii.
Fatigue and exhaustion – this goes back to helping one another.
xiv.
Failure to see results – are WE the failed results?
a.
Realize it is normal.
We can’t keep going without stopping.
Even Jesus became weary – John 4:6. Paul’s
weariness in 2 Corinthians 11:27 was not sinful.
b.
Know its cause.
You cannot always control the cause, but sometimes you can.
Realize that like so many things, this is a tool of Satan to discourage
us.
Are you mentally weary because of sinful struggles or procrastination?
Have you put off things you need to do and now are overwhelmed?
If possible, don’t let this happen!
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” (Benjamin
Franklin).
Or is BECAUSE you are dong the right thing?
c.
Rest
– there is nothing wrong with rest.
It is needed.
Sometimes we need to rest our bodies and the mind by distracting it from
every day rigors.
The word “recreation” has this in mind.
Mark 6:31 – Jesus invited His disciples to come aside and rest a while.
Jesus often rested – Luke 5:16. Luke 9:10 – they went to a
deserted place.
You HAVE TO do this, or you will “burn out”.
Yes, it can be abused, but that is true both ways.
AND of course the key to this – after you rest, GET BACK TO WORK!
d.
Simplification – is that which is wearying you necessary?
Are our lives are filled with clutter that distracts, robs us of
time and resources, makes it more difficult to accomplish a task, etc.?
We are living in an age where we have so many things going on, we don’t
have time to just stop and rest our minds and bodies, UNTIL we collapse.
If we are living our lives like this, how much do we love the world (1
John 2:15-16, Matthew 6:24)
e.
Draw closer to God
– Isaiah 40:28-31 – as already noted, God does not wear out.
If we “wait on the Lord”, we will be renewed.
I personally believe a part of this goes back to simplification.
Letting Him rule our lives.
Personal study – take time to read.
Romans 15:4 – speaks of the patience and comfort of scripture;
Philippians 4:8-9 – meditate on these things, and the peace of God will
be with you.
Prayer – cast your cares on Him – 1 Peter 5:7, pray for strength
– James 5:16 – fervent prayer, Philippians 4:6-7 – be anxious for
nothing, but pray, etc.
Know that He knows what you are doing – Revelation 2:2-3 – to the
church at Ephesus.
Matthew 11:28-30 –
the invitation of Jesus, come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy
laden…
Confess your sins to God – accept His forgiveness
f.
Associate with
others, preferably the godly
– sometimes loneliness leads to weariness, especially mental weariness.
When alone our minds sometimes dwell on all that is going on and
can lead to anxiety, etc. Find
brethren who will lift you up and encourage you.
Proverbs 27:17,
As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
Proverbs 11:25, The generous soul
will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.
g.
Don’t give up – Galatians 6:9 – let us not grow weary in doing good.
Hebrews 10:36 you have need of endurance.
h.
Keep your eye on the end goal
– Hebrews 12:3 – consider Jesus.
Colossians 3:1-2 – set your mind on things above.
In due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 1 Corinthians
15:58, etc.
Weariness is a problem we all face.
But following God’s word can help us manage it rather than
letting it manage us. Again,
as with most of these types of lessons, the knowledge is the easy part.
It is applying them and rewiring our minds that is the true
challenge. True change is
never easy, but it is the answer.
Are
you weary? Where will you
turn?