Encouragement – Too Tired to Worship

Encouragement – Too Tired to Worship

This is an encouragement for those who are very tired. Maybe it is from grieving, maybe it’s burnout, maybe it’s just been a long season of warfare. 

When David pursued the Amalekites, his army was tired. He and his army were in exile, fleeing Saul. He allied with Philistines to fight against their enemies, returning home to find everything  – the families and belongings of him and his men – had been taken by the Amalekites, one of the armies the Philistines had warred against.

They pursued their enemies, but two hundred of David’s men had to break off, as they were too exhausted to even cross the river. The rest of his army continued and vanquished their enemy, returning with not just what had been stolen from them (including the wives and children), but all the Amalekites had taken as plunder from the various battles they had recently won.

When David’s war party returned to the exhausted men that had broken off, there was bickering as some did not want them to receive a portion of the spoil.

David knew God’s heart better. David knew that God had given the Amalekites to them in battle, and wanted this resting army to receive a portion of the spoil too. David allowed his more virile army to war on behalf of those who could not lift a sword themselves, but all shared in the victory.

Lana and I once walked a very hard season, a long time ago. We witnessed fear, pride and greed lead to gross miscarriage of leadership in a church; causing a massive argument in the building with most of the members being involved. The event led to a season of deep grief for us, with the loss of friends, community, and worse, a child in early gestation.

We knew God was our shelter and source. We knew that we needed to find Him at that time. We knew not to give up – but we did not know where to find Him at that moment.

We had only one thought: to come to Church and just sit in the atmosphere of worship. We knew where a local church was that was large enough for us to blend into a crowd, and we just let others do the worshipping for us for a little while.

In that space we found healing. In only a few weeks, God had begun to restore us and we too were worshipping with the crowd. A few weeks later we were part of another church family, and even were helping out among the congregation. But there was a short while that we needed to rest while others fought, to find the first stages of our victory.

This is not a formula for every time you find things are hard. We should all hope to be productive, journeying with Him in hard times and good. Carrying our crosses, living in a lifestyle that, ‘works in quietness and eats their own bread.’ (2 Thess 3:12) That said, seasons of grief and tiredness are an unfortunate, and hopefully rare occurrences of life, and sometimes we need a moment of rest. If you are like me, leaning on others for help can be hard. We also had friends to dialogue with too – we did not do it alone. We had a lot of healing to do, and people to forgive so we could be free. 

David’s army was tired, but all were due a victory. Some needed others to fight on their behalf for a little while. David did not consider this unjust, and neither should we.

In every case, if you find yourself stuck in a hard season: worship or sit in an environment of worship. Find people to talk to. Pastors, friends, professionals, each have a role to play in our lives, especially when we need to lean on others for strength. Pray often for His strength and direction, and don’t give up. 

I hope that encourages you.