Battling Weariness: How to Stay Committed to God’s Calling
When God has called us to something, and we find ourselves growing weary, staying committed to God’s call can be challenging. Maybe you feel like it’s impossible to continue on. You feel like you’re running on empty.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, weariness is the complete depletion of energy or strength. Some other synonyms used to define the word are Fatigue, Exhaustion, Tiredness, and Burnout. As followers of Jesus, we often find ourselves experiencing fatigue, exhaustion, tiredness, or burnout due to a lack of reliance on God’s strength to help us accomplish what he’s assigned us. Jesus called us to endure what he has set before us, just like Jesus endured what was set before him – the cross. We can only do that by relying on the Lord while taking practical measures to guard ourselves against burnout and weariness that tempt us to give up.
But weariness in itself is not bad — it’s a signal to stop, rest, and refocus. Weariness is the signal for us that it’s time to start relying on God.
When we’re weary, our attitudes start to change and affect the words we speak, which have a powerful influence over our lives. We begin to speak things over ourselves that lead us to become discouraged, uninterested, pessimistic, lazy, and sometimes completely give up on what we know God has assigned us to do. It’s crucial to be able to recognize when we’re in this state of mind so we can learn to become watchful when we’re weary. When we’re weary, we’re vulnerable, easily swayed, and more tempted to give up and give in. Setting up guardrails for yourself when you are weary will help you not to spiral into this pit. We need to learn how to be watchful when we’re weary.
To be watchful when we’re weary means to watch what we say, watch who/what we listen to, and watch who/what we believe. Our voice and the voices of others (the news, social media, friends, coworkers, family members, etc.) have immense power in our lives. What voice do you believe when you’re in a state of weariness? Is it God? Or is it the many other voices in your life?
If you let any voice have a powerful influence over your life when you’re feeling empty, let it be the voice of God who promises to fill you up, build you up, and lift you up in his enduring strength. He will give you what you need. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6 NIV).