Strengthen That Weary Soul!

Length: 8 minutes

Apart from Jesus, how does a human body get tired? By doing hard things over and over again. How does a human soul get tired? By looking at hard things over and over again. How do you strengthen a tired soul? By looking at lovely, easy things in Jesus.

This certainly does not need to happen and shouldn’t be something that any believer should identify with. It will also become the exception, rather than the rule, when you grow in Jesus. Nevertheless, sometimes Christian’s find their mind is just tired. It’s not so much that their body is tired because of busyness or hard work. Their mind just feels weary. Why does this happen? The same way that a human body can get tired when it’s carrying something heavy over a long period of time, likewise, your mind (your soul) can get tired when it’s carrying something heavy over a long period of time. What I mean is, your mind will get tired when you are thinking on things that are hard to think on. 

For instance, the law, which is described as a yoke that no one can carry, is said to trouble and unsettle people’s souls when they think on it (Acts 15:10, 24). You see, it affects your soul when your mind is carrying something too heavy for it.

People get tired in their mind by thinking of suffering in the world, turmoil in their household, or how long they’ve been going through a particular hardship. All these things are thoughts that are too heavy for your mind to carry. If you continue to look at these things, without the context of Jesus, your mind will grow weary quickly. And truthfully, it should, because everything in this world is too heavy for our mind to carry. That’s why Jesus did what He did.

Because Jesus has redeemed us from everything in this world, given us complete rest from our works, fixed every problem, and bore every burden Himself (thus taking it away from us), we can meditate on these things instead.

You need to see the world in a truthful light, rather than how it looks physically. These “Jesus-thoughts” are so incredibly light, they will ease your mind. When you look at Jesus, you’ll find no burden left for you to carry. That will encourage your mind. That will strengthen your mind. You’ll find that you can carry these thoughts forever without feeling any weariness whatsoever. You won’t break a sweat! That’s not too good to be true. It’s just true.

Look at what Hebrews 12 says about fixing a weary soul.

Hebrews 12:1-3 (NKJV) …let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross…

This says we run with endurance when we’re looking unto Jesus.

Let’s take a pause for one moment. What does “run with endurance” mean? In the Bible, the terms “race” and “running” refer to us keeping faith (Galatians 5:7). This is saying we can run with endurance in our minds when we are looking unto Jesus. 

Of course, when he says, “looking unto Jesus,” he is not referring to seeing Him physically. He is referring to seeing Jesus in our minds (Hebrews 11:27).

He says we find endurance when we look at Jesus. In other words, looking at Jesus is not tiresome. If it is, you’ve been preached the wrong Jesus. Thoughts of Jesus are not heavy thoughts. They are easy and light thoughts (Matthew 11:30, 1 John 5:3). They are thoughts you can carry in your mind forever and will never weigh you down. They will strengthen your heart.

Let’s continue reading in Hebrews:

Verse 3)
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

This says you will not become weary or discouraged in your souls when you “consider Him!” That means, when your mind is weary or discouraged, it is considering something that is not of Him. A weary soul comes from carrying a mental weight that’s too heavy for you. But Hebrew says, an enduring soul that is not weary or discouraged, comes from looking at Jesus, who endured all things for you! 

Take your eyes off the deception of how circumstances appear, or how long something is taking to manifest, and lock your eyes on the One who already did the hard part for you. Strength comes to your soul when you set your eyes on Jesus, Who would not allow you to be burdened. He took the fight, the struggle, and the weight upon Himself, bearing it for you. 

In 2 Corinthians 3:6, Paul says he was a minister of the new covenant, not of the old. Then, in chapter 4, verse 1, he says “seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not.” Do you know what that means? He’s saying that if we were under the old Testament, it would be hard, and we would grow faint, but seeing that we have this new covenant, seeing all the mercy we have received in it, we faint not. This is talking about mental weariness. He’s saying that when you look at the new covenant, there’s nothing that would cause you to grow faint. Therefore, if your heart is burdened or weary, you need to fill it with the mercy of the new covenant. There is mercy that directly applies to what you’re going through.

Jesus finished everything at the cross. That includes what you’re looking at in your life right now. He has rendered you victorious over all of it, without any fight from you. He has put the solution to all these problems inside of you, by His Spirit. Not only so, but He has given you complete rest from manifesting these things. What’s in you will manifest effortlessly, if you let these truths sink in. You don’t have to worry about how much time has passed! When you believe, you can have a sure expectation (called hope) that you will certainly see the glory of God manifested in your life. 

You see, these are beautiful thoughts — thoughts of the generosity of God, thoughts of the burden He has taken, thoughts of the purity we have in Him (Philippians 4:8). These thoughts cannot wear you down, because these are thoughts that aren’t requiring any more struggle from you, only your consideration. 

I’m not talking about positive thinking. This world’s positive thinking has no basis or surety. It is an attempt to paint an evil world as prettier than it is. The gospel is certainly positive, but we have a surety in Christ for all these claims. It’s not positive because we’re seeing the cup half-full. It’s positive because He’s filled us up, and there’s nothing left undone.

If your soul feels tired, it’s always because your mind is carrying something too heavy for it. But if you don’t see how Jesus already carried that thing, you’ll be left with no one to carry it but yourself. This is why it is important to expose yourself to the gospel! You need to mature in the truth of what He bore for you at the cross, before your mind will relinquish it. 

Whenever your mind feels tired, ask yourself, “What am I looking at?” I can assure you, it’s never the true Jesus. It might be a false version of Jesus that you heard preached before. It might be a false assumption you made about Jesus. It might be a host of other things, but you can be sure that you’re not looking at the true Jesus, because He’s not putting anything heavy on you. He carried everything heavy for you. 

What’s the solution to a weary heart? Carry something lighter! There’s one yoke, one service, that Jesus has given your mind to carry. This one thing is to learn from Jesus everything He has done for you — not what you can do, but what He has done. It will strengthen your mind and rejoice your soul (Psalms 19:8). It’s the only thing you can carry that will give you rest. 

Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

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