T.I.R.E.D

Sitting in church this morning.  It was the last installment on Warrior Poets ... I'll spare you my thoughts on that again.  But can I just say one thing????   The last two weeks, my beloved pastor has commented that church has been feminized.  I agree with that statement.  But for the love, most of the "leadership" (at least that which is hired or appointed) is of the male gender ... sooooo, if its not meeting the needs of men, well, do something about it!!  :0)  Really???!!  Really!!  Pretty sure the females didn't all vote for mauve carpet and pretty sure that's not the sole reason men don't come! 

But on to other things ... still looking at David today.  Warrior Poets really has been good stuff.  But THIS is the verse that captured me ... 2 Samuel 22:15 ...

War broke out again between the Philistines and Israel. David and his men went down to fight. David became exhausted.

Me, too!  Me, too!!  I'm not sure if Daylight Savings has just kicked me harder than usual ... or if BCM is busier than usual (I mean, is that possible?) ... or maybe work's just been tougher than usual ... not sure really what is really going on, but I am T.I.R.E.D!!! But, that little verse got me started thinking that it's not inconsequential that Scripture records people being tired, worn out, and exhausted.  And you know what I found when I set out to find out who else was tired .... no where are they condemned for being tired.  As a matter of fact, I see God extending grace in the midst of exhaustion.  Wanna see what I found?

We need to accept HELP when we are tired.
When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.   Exodus 17:12

We need to be on guard when we are tired.  (oh, Samson, bad mistake there, buddy!)
Then she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when you won't confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven't told me the secret of your great strength."  With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.  Judges 16:15-16

Being tired does not disqualify you from the rewards (the way David protected and provided for those who stopped at Besor is a beautiful picture of grace!)
Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Ravine. They came out to meet David and the people with him. As David and his men approached, he greeted them.  1 Samuel 30:21

When you are tired, sometimes the best thing you can do it STOP and REST.
By the time they reached the Jordan River, David and all the men of the company were exhausted. There they rested and were revived.  2 Samuel 16:14

God ministers to us in our exhaustion (and excuses our irrational demands!)
When Elijah saw how things were, he ran for dear life to Beersheba, far in the south of Judah. He left his young servant there and then went on into the desert another day's journey. He came to a lone broom bush and collapsed in its shade, wanting in the worst way to be done with it all—to just die: "Enough of this, God! Take my life—I'm ready to join my ancestors in the grave!" Exhausted, he fell asleep under the lone broom bush.  I Kings 19:3

Being tired feels HOPELESS sometimes!
We're nothing but slaves, bullied and bowed, worn out and without any rest. (Lam 5:1, Msg)

Even Jesus got tired ... had to get away from the crowds ... and took naps (but he never passed up an opportunity to minister in the midst of that)!!
Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.  John 4:6

But then in the midst of all of the affirmation that sometimes it's ok to just be tired ... to be physically, emotionally, spiritually tired ... to be tired of ... to just be worn out and worn down.  Here are sweet words that God sings over us ...
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.   He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.   Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:29-31

I LOVE how these verses read in the Message.  Get away with me and you'll recover your life!  WOW!!!  Learn the unforced rhythms of GRACE (anybody else forgotten that tune??)
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."  Matthew 11:28 (msg)

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in [your] weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Cor. 12:9-10

SOOO ... I'm gonna do my best to take care of this tired body and soul.  And stay on track with what God has called me to do.  And thank Him that His grace is abundant for my weakness and trust that He will provide for me ... even in a week that ends with me taking a group out of the country!  Even THERE I can find rest!