There is a certain weariness that comes in the summer, when we suddenly realize half the year has flown by and things aren’t better than it was in January—or have gotten worse. Maybe your relationships need work, and you’ve found yourself fighting with family and friends. Maybe there’s trouble at home and brokenness in your family. Maybe you’re tired of running the Christian race and your spiritual life has grown stale.
But perhaps we can take a cue from the tradition of new year’s resolutions and make ones that can help us during this middle part of the year. Through the power of the gospel, we can find hope and strength to continue. Here are five resolutions for when you’re feeling weary and worn out by the world.
1. Reject the idea that the Christian life is easy.
Realize that we’re in a spiritual war. The Devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to devour you. Satan wants to sift you like wheat. Sin is always crouching at your doorstep, seeking to take you down. The world will hate and persecute you — just like it did to Jesus. Understand that sanctification is a strenuous process all by itself. We are to go to extremes to eliminate sin in our lives. We are to be constantly dying to ourselves. Reject the idea that the Christian life is easy.
2. Remember and trust the promises of God.
Read and rest in these promises:
- “If you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed” (1 Peter 3:14). God sees you in your suffering, for “when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God” (1 Peter 2:20).
- “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil” (1 Peter 3:17). You remain in God’s will even when you suffer.
- “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1 Peter 4:19). You can place your trust in God because he is always with you.
3. Rejoice in suffering.
God cares about the pain in this world, and that means God cares about your suffering. We don’t always know the purposes and plans that God has through suffering, but we do know that suffering is for showing his glory.
The Bible says that “If we are children of God, then we are also his heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:17). The link between suffering and glory is undeniable, but it also means that we can rejoice in it. We can live in this world as sojourners who are sorrowful, yet always rejoicing (2 Corinthians 6:10).
4. Readily share the Gospel.
We shouldn’t just sit still in our suffering. We use it as a reason to readily share the Gospel. Think about Paul and Silas in prison, worshiping and witnessing in a worst-case scenario. They were “prepared to make a defense to anyone” who asked about their hope (1 Peter 3:15). Think about Jesus on trial and continuing to speak the truth about himself even to a thief on the cross. May we be “not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
5. Root your hope with God in Heaven.
If you’re experiencing brokenness in your family or in your homes, root your hope with God in Heaven. If sickness and death have cast a dark shadow this season, root your hope with God in Heaven.
God loves you. Jesus cares for you. The Holy Spirit is with you. The Church is here to help you. And when we are home in Heaven, he will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:4).
God Saves and the Weary World Rejoices
Christmas seems like eons away. But the story of Christ coming to earth to dwell among us should always comfort us. As Joseph and Mary carried their child along on their journeys, weary and worn out by the world, they knew their son’s name and found it to be a constant reminder of their hope in God:
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
The name Jesus means that the LORD is salvation. It means God saves. And when we look at Jesus, we get a glimpse of hope. God never said that we would be free from danger. He never said that we would be free from the weariness of this world. But he did promise that we would be free from the shackles of our sin and free from the despondency of death.
When you look in the infant eyes of Jesus, in upcoming Christmas cards and nativity scenes, you see hope. In all our trials, the King of Kings was born to be our friend. And then as you gaze at his same eyes on the cross, you see the love that God has for you. God is sovereign over suffering, and nothing can stop his plan for salvation through Jesus the King.
We will see the resurrected King face to face one day. We will fall on our knees in adoration and praise. I know that your life is not easy. Even youths grow tired and weary. But those who hope in the Lord, who put their faith in Jesus, will renew their strength. You can be strong and courageous. No matter the season, we can feel that thrill of hope that all oppression shall soon cease. In a grateful chorus, we’ll raise sweet hymns of joy. Let our lives and all within us praise His holy name. The weary world rejoices.
This article was adapted from a sermon originally delivered at FCBC Walnut.