Encouragement For the Weary and Tired

I read an encouraging quote this week for us as we fulfill our roles as ministers of the gospel, teachers, and affecting an impact on coming generations:

“A good teacher is like a candle: it consumes itself to light the way for others.” Atuke

Charles Spurgeon said something similar, “It is our duty and our privilege to exhaust our lives for Jesus. We are not to be living specimens of men in fine preservation, but living sacrifices, whose lot is to be consumed.”

Look, discouragement comes to us all. It’s really a bummer when it does but it’s important to remember what Jesus taught us.

After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? You call me `Teacher’ and `Lord,’ and you are right, because it is true.  And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.  I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 How true it is that a servant is not greater than the master. Nor are messengers more important than the one who sends them.  You know these things—now do them! That is the path of blessing. John 13:12-17 (NLT)

Jesus didn’t have an easy life, and neither will you.  I don’t know why we think we will get a pass on the challenges of life.

It’s important that we keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, especially when times are tough.  This is where you’re vulnerable and need to be extra careful to guard your hearts when you see an Instagram post that makes it look like your friends or family have it so much better or easier than you do.  They don’t, at least not in the way that you think. You’re running your own race. You have your unique issues. Why? Because God is conforming you into the image of His Son.  Don’t forget, social media is really just the highlight reel of someone’s life.  Rarely do the worst things get posted. It’s always the best burgers, the best vacations, the best of it all. Learn to rejoice with those who rejoice. It’s healthy for your soul.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NLT)

It’s easy for us to think, as we read the Bible, that life was different for Jesus and His followers. Different in that it was easier than life and the struggles we currently face. But it wasn’t easy at all. It was hard. It was difficult. It was challenging in every sense of that word.  He was met with the sick, the dying, the difficult, and the hurting almost every moment of every day for three years straight.  He experienced difficulties with those closest to Him. Jesus was lied about. Men plotted His death. They even hired people to lie about Jesus and slander His perfect name. He was abandoned. He was betrayed. He was brutally murdered.

It could be today, as you’re reading this, that the road you’re traveling on is not easy; it’s hard and difficult.  You may even be wondering if you’re making the kind of difference you thought you would.

You are, even if you don’t feel like it.  Feelings are very real, but they don’t always tell us the truth.

Consider Jesus today. Know that while outwardly there wasn’t much to desire from the life of Jesus and His disciples materially. Following Jesus didn’t bring a large salary, retirement, or any of the comforts we long for today. The commitment to discipleship included losing everything. They were homeless, despised, mistreated, eventually plotted against, murdered, and martyred. Jesus and His followers accomplished the will of the Father for their lives, and today we are followers ourselves because of their faithfulness.

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul? For I, the Son of Man, will come in the glory of my Father with his angels and will judge all people according to their deeds. And I assure you that some of you standing here right now will not die before you see me, the Son of Man, coming in my Kingdom.” Matt 16:24-28 (NLT)

Look to Him today, my tired friend. Rest in His calling upon your life. Live for His pleasure and know, without allowing a doubt to displace it, that you are making a difference for eternity.

So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessings at the appropriate time. Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone, especially to our Christian brothers and sisters. Gal 6:9-10 (NLT)