Are You Weary?

Weariness. I am sure you are familiar with the feeling. At least, I most certainly am.

Ecclesiastes says, "All things are full of weariness" (1:8). I have been doing some thinking about what that really means. What does it mean for ALL things to be full of weariness?

Although not sure of an answer, I can feel it. Sometimes I am weary in my body, after a long day of activities or running around at work. Sometimes I am weary in my soul. This is typically brought on by academic stress or emotional fatigue. I enjoy life, but there are those moments where you just feel so...weary. Endless piles of things to accomplish and feelings of being misunderstood will definitely get me to that place.

From time to time, you can feel it in the air. Weariness. Have you ever walked through a college campus in the middle of finals week? Now that, if any, is a sure fire way to feel weariness around you.

But what am I supposed to do with that weariness?

I believe an answer may be found in quietness.

"Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of a toil and a striving after wind." (4:6)

In quietness, the Lord is able to send refreshment and peace to your soul. Think about the weariness you are most familiar with. What is the cause of it? My bet would be that 99% of all weariness comes from either a lack of peace, rest, or both. So when we force ourselves to be quiet, we are creating a space for rest in order to gain peace and dispel weariness.

I wonder, am I EVER quiet? I rest because I must. Do I ever seek these things for spiritual regeneration and growth? What about when I'm weary? What is my response then?

Furthermore, drawing near to the Lord can only happen in quietness and near to His presence we are blessed with wisdom, according to Ecclesiastes. The author says, "to draw near to listen is better than to offer sacrifice to fools..." (5:1) What an incredible return on your investment! If you sincerely seek out quietness, you can avoid weariness, gain peace through rest as well as wisdom when drawing near to the Lord's presence.

That sounds a whole lot better than being weary.