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A Word to the Weary

WTTWblog

Weariness is the theme I’m hearing and the vibe I’m feeling from a lot of people these days. When COVID-19 first hit and the world went into lock-down, churches scrambled to get their services online and find creative ways to care for their people. Back then, when someone asked me how I was doing, I answered “Crazy busy!” Now I say, “Crazy exhausted!” which is just another way of saying “I’m weary.” 

As Americans, we’re experiencing three major cultural earthquakes at the same time—in an election year, no less. Pandemic, protests and politics. And everyone has an opinion or priority: Stop the pandemic like this. Fight for justice like that. Fix broken political systems, avoid economic collapse, repair racial relations. It’s wearisome.  

What’s especially wearisome is that the solutions so many are offering have nothing to do with the kingdom of God. As Christians, we expect that. But if we’re not careful, we’ll embrace it and go with the cultural flow. But when our trust shifts from God to the cultural idols of our day, it wears us out. Idols always empty and exhaust their worshipers. 

 They demand but never deliver. They take but never give. They drain and deplete, like a religious parasite, weakening its host.

That’s what happened to God’s people when they went into Babylonian exile. The foreign, hostile culture held them captive and wore them out. Like Gollum’s ring, the precious idols they embraced deceived them. 

But in Isaiah chapter 40, God has a word of comfort for weary exiles. If we lean in and listen, we’ll find it relevant to our cultural moment. Comfort often follows confession and Israel needed to own their idolatries: nations, rulers, and Babylonian idols. God names their false hopes, then shows how utterly unimpressive they were. The nations are a drop in the bucket. The rulers are like the grass that withers—or the insects that eat the grass. The metal idols need to be made by skilled artisans so they don’t topple over, and chained so they are not stolen! Secure your gods!     

Throughout their idol exposé, God asks Israel a series of questions: fourteen to be exact. But in verse 25 he reduces them down to one—not to end the conversation but to deepen it. He asks, “To whom then will you compare Me?” God has them cornered.   

One of the ugly consequences of idolatry is the way is causes us to turn on the true God and question his devotion to us, while we are serving other gods. It happened to Israel. It happens to us. Listen to their complaint and see if it rings a bell: 

“Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God’”? (verse 27)

They’re claiming that God has forgotten them in exile. He doesn’t see. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t care. And he can’t do anything about it anyway. “We’ve blown it,” they thought, “And now we’re on our own.” That’s the false gospel they preached to themselves. Maybe you’ve been there, too. I know I have. Idolatry is subtle. 

In the beginning, believers spoke about the COVID-19 virus with optimism and hope. Every sentence brought God into the story. “This virus is nasty, but God is powerful. He’s sovereign. He's wise. He’s good. We can trust Him.” But as time went on, I heard more talk about vaccines, doctors, politicians, masks, flattening curves, and how we’re going to “beat this virus,” and less talk about God. That’s a trust-shift from God to people. Science, politicians, celebrity doctors—experts. They were held out as our great hope. That’s dangerous and familiar. Are we surprised to hear everyone talking about how ridiculously tired they are now? Idolatry will wear you out. 

Perhaps God is going to show us how utterly unimpressive the objects of our hope have been, too. Commenting on Isaiah, Ray Ortlund writes: 

“If our purposes rise no higher than what we can attain by our own organizing and thinking, then we should change our churches into community centers. But if we are weary of ourselves and our own brilliance, if we are embarrassed by our failures, then we are ready for the gift of power from on high.”

Israel had grown weary of themselves. And a lot of believers I know have followed their pattern. At the end of this chapter, Isaiah uses the words “weary,” “faint,” or “exhausted” eight times.

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (verses 28–31).

God wants His people to know that although the idols they embraced have worn them out, He has unlimited resources to share with them. They’re empty. He can fill them. They’re weak. He can strengthen them. They’re tired. He can renew them. 

This is an invitation and a challenge—to lift up our eyes to our creator and get honest. Remember what those idols did to you. The Bible has us pegged when it says we “serve” idols. That service is one-way. We get nothing in return but exhaustion. They take strength but never renew it. God is utterly unlike them. And that’s Isaiah’s point. To whom then will you liken God? We can do no better than Jesus, who said: 

“Come to me, all 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.” 

“No rest for the weary.” Have you heard that lie? It’s a false gospel we often congratulate ourselves for embracing and use to justify our exhaustion. And here’s another one: “God helps those who help themselves.” Lies! There is abundant rest for the weary, and ample help for the desperate. And those are the conditions. God helps desperate, weary people who wait on Him. He doesn’t promise to flatten curves, cure COVID, or even preserve our countries. But He does promise to give us strength.  

So here are your options. Come to God for strength and satisfaction. Or stay where you are and remain exhausted. Aren’t you glad that God offers you a much better deal than those idols?