Tiredness to Trust - God’s path to the good life
by Robert Krumrey
God’s vision for his children is that they would live lives that are filled to overflowing. Last Sunday’s sermon looked at a description of this reality in Psalm 128. What is described in this Psalm is a home where the husband and father is “blessed” and the wife and children are thriving like leafy green plants that are producing an abundance of fruit. It is profoundly beautiful and something that most human beings desire. Problem is that most of us don’t feel like we are living out such a reality.
Most of us are tired especially if we are parents of children. Life is hard and things never seem to go as planned. There is a constant barrage of fatigue, grumpiness, sickness, and overall lack of satisfaction. Most, if not all, are running on empty and any hint of being asked to do more is met with guilt, frustration, or even anger. As one book title suggests, we are “Dad Tired”. This is certainly true of moms too. So what is a person to do?
We have a few options, even if it doesn’t feel like we do, and we are most likely embracing one or a combination of the following in our daily living.
option 1: WORK MODE
Some of us respond to our fatigue and dissatisfaction by merely trying harder. We get up earlier. We stay up later. We take vitamin supplements and inhale essential oils. We listen to motivational self-help podcasts on our way to work. These things aren’t all bad. There are wise ways to manage time and diet and mental health that will lead to a more productive life, but if this is all we’re going for to deal with our challenges, we are building a life on quicksand.
option 2: SURVIVAL MODE
Instead of taking a proactive approach like those in the work mode group, many of us just take life as it comes. We don’t need an alarm clock because we wake up to the screams of our toddlers demanding breakfast. We spring into action and get the drink and the breakfast and then deal with whatever the next crisis is until we’ve made it to the end of the day and fall into bed exhausted only to repeat the next day in much the same way. The general feeling is that we are a victim of life and there is absolutely nothing we can do to change it.
option 3: ESCAPE MODE
Usually survival mode is accompanied by escape mode. Whenever there is a break in the action, we scroll on our phones, binge on Netflix, or eat comfort food. We tell ourselves that we deserve a break because life is so hard. Of course breaks are needed, but the result of these kinds of breaks is a greater feeling of malaise that makes survival that much harder. Our “rest” doesn’t contribute to a rhythm of work and then more rest, but instead one of escape, guilt, and more fatigue.
TRUST MODE
The above descriptions summarize life for a lot of humans on planet earth, Christians and non-Christians. All of us on a pretty consistent basis find ourselves falling into some version of these behaviors. That’s one thing if you are not a Christian, but if you are, you probably have an extra layer of guilt and shame that accompanies these realities because you know that you’re supposed to be experiencing a different sort of existence. For example, what about all that flourishing being described in Psalm 128?!?
As I shared in Sunday’s sermon, this blessed life of wholistic human flourishing is found by those who “fear God”. In the sermon, we looked at these bookends that surround the description of material and relational flourishing:
“Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!”
“Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.”
The good life or “the blessed life” is experienced by those who come under the authority of God. As one’s authority he commands us in “his ways” and we are to walk in them. The nature of this relationship is that we submit to God’s ways or commands no questions asked. We don’t do this for fear of punishment, but because of the good and right authority that is exercised by God who created and saved us. This “fearing” of God is also described as “trust” in the scripture. Here’s an example of the mixing of the two concepts of fearing and trusting from Proverbs 3:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”
Trusting in, leaning on, even fearing God leads not only to straight paths, but also healing and refreshment down to the depths of our marrow. This scripture is giving us a glimmer of the mystery of a life of faith - living in obedience to God even when we, in and of ourselves, don’t have the money, time, energy to do what God is putting in front of us. It is in these moments when we are ripe for a moment of genuine trust in our gracious King. So how do we do this? Here are four practical ways to embrace this reality.
Ground yourself in the Gospel - We are never going to get life completely right which is why we need the good news about the work of Jesus on the cross. The gospel is no gimmicky self help program filled with empty promises. The gospel is honest about the nature of this world and the hope we have now and forever. Life on this side of heaven is always going to tend toward futility. Everything we encounter in this world is wasting away which is why life feels like an uphill battle. This is a result of sin and its effects which Christ has died to deal with in us and the entire universe. We must keep grounding ourselves in the gospel that gives us hope in the life to come and gives us strength to carve out supernatural abundance in this life as well.
Get up earlier - This makes no sense right? When you are tired, it seems like you should squeeze in every minute of sleep that you can. It’s also something that I mentioned that “work mode” people do to their own demise. The kind of getting up early that I’m talking about isn’t to get more work done and I’m also not negating the need for adequate sleep. What I am talking about is getting up to make time to pray, read, be quiet before the Lord and take stock of your inner life. Going from alarm clock to the chaos of your day is never a good way to start your day acknowledging him in all of your ways. If first thing in the morning doesn’t work for you, at least carve out a few minutes after dropping kids at school, during a baby’s nap time, or in between your morning classes. Taking time to be still before God and prayerfully meditate on Scripture is essential for moving from tiredness to trust.
Replace Screen Time with Scripture - While most of us are busy, many of us somehow find time to scroll on our phones literally for hours. I’ve become more aware of this since my iPhone started giving me a weekly report of my phone usage. While there is nothing wrong with using social media and enjoying forms of digital entertainment, doing so regularly without regular time in Scripture is a recipe for a very tired body and soul. Figure out the times when you scroll on your phone or watch movies and replace some of that time with Scripture study.
Serve Others - Again, this makes no sense! If I’m tired, how can I serve others? This is another place where faith kicks in. We know that no matter how busy we are, God is calling us to serve in the church and on mission in the world. When he wrote those commands in the Bible, he was certainly aware of our busy schedules in 2021. Alongside those commands are promises to give us strength to serve (see 1Peter 4:11). Serving and/or giving, out of what feels like deprivation, is a moment when God invigorates us body and soul for his glory and the good of others.
So take a few minutes today to put down your productivity podcast, your Insta feed, even the chaos of addressing the current crisis and “acknowledge him”, your King. He will be faithful to move you from tiredness to trust.