When Weariness Whispers
When was the last time you were weary—not “tired” or “worn out” but weary? It’s a term we tend to use for all-encompassing exhaustion, the kind that sets in when you’ve seen and done enough and are emotionally out of gas. Whether it stems from culture shock after a big move, sleepless nights with a newborn baby, or ever-present anxiety stealing your peace, weariness is always ready to make an appearance. How can we avoid being overrun by it and find renewal from the Lord?
There are typically two ways we respond to weariness:
1. Give up: Just throw in the towel, nothing left to offer.
2. Head down: Grind it out, push, push, push with no regard for the toll on your body or soul.
In 1 Kings 19, we witness an Old Testament hero, Elijah the prophet, facing such a situation. Having seen God’s incredible power against the idolatrous prophets of a god known as Baal (1 Kings 18), Elijah is riding high until he discovers that the ring-leaders of Israel’s idolatry, especially Jezebel the queen, are neither chastened nor scared by this display. Jezebel declares it her life’s new mission to destroy Elijah. He runs for his life, but before he can arrive at his destination, he collapses and declares, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers” (v4). In other words, “I’ve kept my head down to no avail, and now I’m giving up.”
Fear has driven Elijah to such isolation and exhaustion that he can’t see a way to carry on, but it’s in this exact moment that, through an angelic messenger, the Lord meets him, provides for him, and reassures him. After instructing Elijah to eat his fill of bread and water, the angel then offers this encouragement: “The journey is too great for you” (v7). No doubt these are exactly the words you hope to hear when you can’t take another step. “Yes, like you said: it’s enough, it’s too much.” The power of this truth, however, lies not with Elijah but with his God.
Eventually Elijah stops at Mt. Horeb (or Sinai) the very place where God once revealed himself to Moses generations before, and in his frustration he says this: “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away” (v10). It is in this moment that the Lord speaks to Elijah directly and urges him to “stand on the mount before the LORD” (v11). God will make himself known to the mighty (weary) prophet in an unexpected way.
One by one, a procession of natural phenomena takes place just outside Elijah’s mountain cave—a mighty wind capable of destroying boulders, an earthquake that shakes the mountain itself, and a fire that could consume everything in its path. These are the sorts of things he has come to expect of the wonder-working God he represents to all Israel, but the passage makes clear that the Lord was not actually present in any of those things (vv11–12). Instead of sound and fury, the Lord reveals his presence in a “low whisper,” and by doing so he offers Elijah an alternative to keeping his head down or giving up altogether. The Lord beckons Elijah to look up.
In Elijah’s weariness, the Lord met him and provided for him through miraculous means, sure, but ordinary ones as well: a simple meal and a nap. The advice given was likewise straightforward: “You can’t do this on your own.” And now, on the mountain of God, the Lord makes himself known, but it’s not through majesty and might. Instead, it’s the “mere” voice of the Lord, like a whisper.
When we’re weary (which can come about from serving the Lord directly as well as life circumstances that threaten our ability to serve the Lord), instead of walking away or running harder, there is a third and better path: simple, humble dependence on the Lord’s provision and his word as we defer to his will. So often, we want to see the amazing thing, the miraculous thing, reasoning that if we witness God’s might we will have energy to be mighty ourselves, but this is precisely where weariness is most likely to set in. Self-dependence is a recipe for collapse and burnout. In other words, let weariness cause you not to give up on the Lord but on yourself! The right course is always the one that leans into dependence on the Lord. This is, of course, easier said than done. Where do we find the heart needed to loosen our grip on glory and hold fast to the Lord?
Jesus himself was temped on numerous occasions to reject his Father’s plan and put him to the test, demanding miraculous intervention in exchange for obedience. In Matthew 4:1–11 we see Satan’s personal attacks: “command these stones to become loaves of bread” (v3); “throw yourself down [from the temple]” and see if God won’t save you (v6); “fall down and worship me” (v10). In the end, Jesus’ resolve was grounded in his dependence on the Lord’s will and word. This is how he continued to walk despite his own weariness. (And if you think Jesus wasn’t weary, consider that after being tempted during his 40-day fast in the wilderness, “angels came and were ministering to him,” much like one did for Elijah, v11.)
It was his life of obedient dependence on the Father that, sealed with his crucifixion, makes it possible for us to press on in service to God, not by gritting our teeth or collapsing in despair but by looking to our Savior who nourishes us with the simple means of sustenance he offers his saints: prayer, communion with the local church, and the low whisper of God’s voice, his word found in Scripture. You see, for all of Elijah’s zeal, he overstated how dire his case was. Far from the last prophet standing, it turns out the Lord had planned to “leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal” (1 Kgs 19:18). Yet, Christ was truly the Prophet of all prophets, the very last to stand, in fact, the only to ever truly stand for the Lord before an idolatrous world. Where Elijah feared Jezebel, fled for his life, and eventually gave up, Jesus believed his Father, stood firm, and then gave up his life so that we might be preserved as living witnesses of God’s incredible power to save sinners.
Jesus humbled himself and depended on the Lord unto death so that we might humble ourselves and depend on the Lord in the face of death and its harbingers exhaustion and weariness. By turning to Christ and not ourselves when we can’t take another step, we find the strength we need to follow him to the very end.