The Weary Soul Rejoices

weary: feeling or showing tiredness, fatigue, worn out, exhausted (Oxford Languages)

Perhaps it is due to the nature of working as a counselor, but even as I scroll through my news feeds and talk with friends and family, there is an overall sense of weariness in the world. I feel it myself with personal burdens and as I observe the corrupt and broken culture around me. Weariness is more than feeling tired, it's felt deep within our bones. Psalm 6:6-7 says, "I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears. My vision is blurred by grief; my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies." Weariness is complete exhaustion physically, mentally, and emotionally. The Psalmist cries out earlier in verse 2 of chapter 6, "Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. I am sick at heart. How long, O Lord, until you restore me?"

In our "pick ourselves up by our bootstraps" culture, we can be tempted to view weariness negatively and even within the church as a picture of someone whose faith is simply not where it needs to be. This is simply not so. Weariness is the inevitable result of experiencing and witnessing the destructive results of sin.

God, Himself, felt weary.

"You have wearied the Lord with your words (Malachi 2:17)."

The Lord was wearied by the words of the unfaithful, those turning from him to detestable acts of sin. What comfort to see that God not only sees and is near to us in our weariness (Psalm 34:18), but God knows our weariness. He knows what it is to be rejected and witness injustice.

God the Son knew weariness.

Before being arrested and knowing what was to come on the cross Jesus, the Son of God, prayed, "Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine." Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened Him. He prayed more fervently, and He was in such agony of spirit that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood (Luke 22:42-44)."

We do not have a Savior who is unable to sympathize with our weariness and our anguish. He was beaten, rejected, nailed to the cross, and betrayed by those closest to Him. And just as the Father strengthened the Son, He is able to strengthen all of His children.

God the Spirit knows sorrow and grief.

"And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, He has identified you as His own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30)."

Sinful, foul, and abusive words and actions bring sorrow to the Spirit of God. Our sorrow with sin, whether it be our own or the sin of others, is a reflection of the same emotions sin stirs in the Spirit of God.

God our Father, Jesus our Savior, and God the Holy Spirit know our weariness. But for those who have been saved, who have confessed Jesus as Lord of their life, and have become children of God, weariness is not our end.

"Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning (Psalm 30:5)."

The difference in our weariness and the triune God's, is that He doesn't have to look or search for hope in His weariness over sin, because He is the hope. This season we celebrate hope coming to us. We rejoice in a God who doesn't leave us to our weariness but came down from heaven to give life and joy beyond this momentary life in a broken world (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). As the angel declared to the shepherds over 2,000 years ago, "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! (Luke 2:10-11)"

The weary soul can rejoice today because our Savior has come. God has poured out His grace by purchasing our salvation with the blood of Jesus, forgiving our sins, and comforting us in our weariness. And not only has the Savior come, but He will come again! Yes, the weary soul can rejoice today because there will be a new and glorious morning when Jesus returns and every tear is wiped away, death and pain are no more, and weariness ceases, as we praise the King of Kings forevermore.