One of my favorite movies is Blazing Saddles, a movie so politically incorrect that it seldom airs anymore. In it Madeline Kahn plays a lounge singer who sings a song called I’m Just Tired. The song is a bit racy and intended for its comedic value. But in reality there’s nothing funny about being tired, and if truth be told I imagine many of us could sing a similar song. I know I can.

I’ve been on dialysis now for twenty-five months. That’s approximately 108 weeks, 1296 hours in a chair, 648 needle pricks with 15 gauge needles in the same 2” area of my left arm. While I’m grateful to God for life sustaining medical technology, I’m so very tired. I operate at about 50% energy capacity as a norm, waiting for the day I can receive a donor kidney and get back to some resemblance of a normal life.

Some of you may be tired too. Weariness comes in many forms. You may be tired of a dead end job that leaves you unfulfilled. You may be tired of constant financial struggles. Some may be tired of being in a relationship that has grown stale while others may be tired of being alone. Maybe like me you are fighting an illness and you are tired of being sick compared to the time when you felt your best. It’s no fun being tired and it can wreak havoc on not only your physical being but also your mental, emotional and spiritual welfare.

But there is relief for those who follow Christ. God is not blind to our weariness and has given us many scriptures to cling to for added energy when we’re tired of dealing with things that never seem to change. He would have us enjoy a life of abundant joy and the energy to endure the hard seasons of life. Consider these passages from his Word:

Come to me, all who are weary and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and you will find rest. Matt. 11:28

Truly my soul finds rest in God. Psalm 62:1

I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. Jeremiah 31:25

All who wait on the Lord will find renewed strength. Isaiah 40:31

My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in your weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9

He gives power to the faint and to him with no energy he increases their strength. Isaiah 40:29.

I know it sounds too simple- a verse here or there somehow increasing our energy levels just like that. But the Word is like vitamins-they work best when taken daily, not just when we’re at our worst. Jesus gave us the Sabbath as a day for us to rest and recharge because he was familiar with fatigue. We would do well to follow his example, leaning on him when life is too tiring for us.
Be blessed.