I'm Tired of Being Tired

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I don’t know about you, but I have had a long few weeks. I won’t bore you with the gory details but between deadlines in grad school, car trouble, and then getting laid out with COVID, I am tired!

When faced with what Christians around the world are suffering and even my neighbors right here in the US are experiencing, I realize my problems are not that bad. I am blessed with a safe, stable living situation, and I am not afraid that I will have to miss my next meal due to food insecurity. I am able to attend a healthy church where I can freely attend without fear of persecution or arrest.

Still, I have found myself feeling a little beat up by life. I was complaining to God (as He welcomes us to!). I asked God — What do you want me to hear as I sit here all worn out?

God was faithful to remind me of another friend in the faith who felt pretty similar to me, just 3000 years ago.In 1 Kings 19, Elijah is tired. He has survived being hunted by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, engaged in really difficult ministry with the widow of Zarephath, and, most recently, faced off against hundreds of false prophets of Jezebel’s gods who mocked and threatened him, despite his God’s victory over them. He has had a bad couple years — to put it mildly!

So, finding himself worn down and exhausted from fleeing once again, Elijah sits down under a bush in the middle of the wilderness and tells God he is done and asks God to take his life. God does not scold him for being ungrateful or rebuke him for being dramatic.

How does God respond?

Here are some things I noticed:

  1. God is patient with Elijah, He does not force him to be ready to carry on before he is ready. He allows him to rest.
  2. God cares about Elijah’s physical needs. He does not separate Elijah’s spiritual exhaustion from his physical exhaustion. He treats him as a fully embodied human?

What do you notice?

After God provides food and rest to Elijah, he sends him on another journey, this time to find friends. He promises Elijah that he is not the only faithful person in the land and instructs him on where to find like-minded friends to accompany him.

Are you tired today? What can encourage you in this story from Elijah’s life?

If you are feeling blessed and well-rested, how does this story challenge you to be a good friend to those in your life who might be, like Elijah and me, tired of being tired?

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Hi @Michaela,

Thank you for this honest reflection. I can relate. :slight_smile:

One book and conversation - You’re Only Human with Dr. Kelly Kapic - really helped me to accept that, well, I am only human. (Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu65mf4pftg).

I can try my best, but I still don’t accomplish everything I want to get done. There are interruptions, fatigue, confusion, and distractions.

Then there are the situations you’ve experienced, including COVID, where our capacity is reduced in ways that are outside of our control.

So, for me, it helps to remember that God made me a creature and he knew that I would have limits. Biological, social, intellectual, and volitional limits. And that… is ok. Because it is how God made me.

In terms of being a good friend to those who are tired, one way I try to help is to normalize the feeling of being exhausted. I usually can’t fix the problem (“let me go talk to your professors about the work load!”) but at least I can sit with someone and say, “Yea, it makes sense that you’re tired.”

I’m interested to hear what others will share!

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Hi @Michaela I’m sorry you’ve been feeling so tired out and I hope you are on the mend.

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What I have realised, and what your reference to Elijah reminds me of, is that even when we think we are the only one suffering with whatever problems, we rarely are the only one to have the experience. Trouble is, we often keep our problems hidden, put on a brave face and don’t let on that we are struggling inside. I try to remember this if someone seems a bit off in any way, I don’t know what they are dealing with in private. Personally, I probably beat myself up too much with guilt when I get overwhelmed with what are, in some ways, trivial ‘furst world’problems, compared to the suffering of many people. But like you said, take it all to God in prayer, He really does want to hear our feelings and thoughts, no matter how small, and I find once I’ve voiced those emotions they tend to subside and a solution comes forth.

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Hi @theresa4, yes, 100% this! It is so helpful to talk openly with a friend and have them not just listen but reciprocate the vulnerability. Where we both can say, “I’m struggling.” Maybe our struggles are different but neither of us are following Jesus as we’d want, and our circumstances aren’t exactly perfect, and so on. And then we can encourage and pray for each other.

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