Along the Weary Way
Are you living weary?
Immeasurable levels of weariness exist; some I know intimately, some I do not. Through a decade of four newborn babies and one miscarriage, I became acquainted with the weariness of sleepless nights, doubt-filled years, and non-stop days.
When you see every hour on the clock glaring brightly through the darkness of night, knowing you won’t ever get that time back, you are living weary. When you realize there is no end to parenting, or when you watch a child struggle through that which you can’t control or take away, you are living weary. When you taste the sweetest fruits in a life of ministry or experience the pressures and demands of a corporate vocation, you are living weary.
Even the steady drip of a long-awaited answer, an unresolved conflict, a sick child, a chronic illness, or a never-ending pile of laundry can lead you there. To weary is to become tired along life’s way, yet to me weariness has a way of greedily reaching beyond tired. Living weary resembles more of a heaviness in the marrow of your bones, the layers of your heart, and the tunnels of your mind.
Have you thought about what areas cause you to grow more weary than others? It won’t be the same for each of us, yet we will all find ourselves there at some point.
This year has left us all increasingly weary: weary of politics, weary of change, weary of disease, and weary of unknowns to name a few. Wherever you are today, follow along with me, and be comforted by these words in the book of John.
In John, chapter 4, we see Jesus reaching a point of exhaustion after traveling, baptizing, and teaching alongside his disciples. Needing some refreshment, he positioned himself near a well located in a nearby town. No doubt after these long days, he just needed to rest. Beginning in verse 6, it says,
“ Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. John 4:6 ESV
When I first began reading this passage, I had to just pause because one thing stood out more than anything else. There is something mighty comforting to me that the Savior of the world also felt weary. The One who came as a servant to bring life, also knew when he reached his limits. He was not only God, but also fully man; a man with a continuous need for refreshment. As I continued reading and reflecting, it became clear that this passage was a helpful model for how to live weary in a demanding world.
He was positioned near the well.
Notice in verse 6 above that Jesus, who could have chosen to sit anywhere while he waited for his disciples to return, positioned himself wisely near a well. In biblical times, as in many countries today, water was not readily available, so this key location would prove beneficial. A well does not easily run dry. It is not a place you come to for a one and done kind of answer. A well is something that lasts, providing drink after drink after drink. So, I ask myself:
When I am weary, where do I position myself?
What do I draw from in order to quench my thirst?
When can I set aside time to sit by the well and replenish?
he continued to make himself available for others.
“A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)” John 4:7-9 ESV
You can begin to imagine it can’t you? At just the right moment, after Jesus settled into the dry, dusty, dirt and took a long deep breathe, someone approached him. It wasn’t just anyone. He couldn’t blame her for being there, of course, as he understood her thirst. He asked for a drink and began a conversation. There is no doubt that he knew what would happen when he opened his mouth. He could have sat quietly. After all, he deserved this time, but he also knew his calling. Despite his weary state, he couldn’t leave this woman searching for answers or for true love, so he began to engage, ask, and acknowledge her.
When I am weary, do I still make myself available for others needs?
Do I allow my eyes to see the hurting around me and engage it despite how I feel that day?
Is there someone I can come alongside of, even in a weary season, to encourage or help?
He represented that which truly satisfies.
The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? … Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” John 11, 13-15 ESV
I appreciate this woman’s curiosity. She kept asking the questions until she arrived at the real answer. This woman was eager to know more of the living water that He speaks of here, acknowledging her own thirst.
Jesus slowly opened her eyes to see who it was that she was speaking with in that moment. She had no plans of encountering the living God during a routine visit to the well, and yet, her life would forever be changed. She stayed, she listened, and she received. As we continue through John 4, we see how this Samarian woman was completely humbled by the fact that Jesus spoke to intimate details of her life that no one else would know. He knew all of those dark places, and while ignoring the cultural taboos of their day, continued to speak life to her.
Overcome with joy to share about what she experienced, she left her water jar, and ran for the center of town. As she ran, she declared that this man must be the Messiah because He knew her. He knew “all that she ever did”, and yet saw her worth. She recognized that she left with far more than water that day.
Friends, along our journey may we never forget that even in our weariness, we have the opportunity to draw near to the well of living water. As we draw near, God is faithful to engage with us. Through our encounter with him, on even the most ordinary of days, I pray we will leave with hunger satisfied and thirst quenched, eager to share the truth of Him with others.
Take heart today, friends, as you continue on your weary way. Remember the One who has the power to save, has also felt the heaviness and exhaustion you may feel today. Yet even in his rest He remains available to you with eyes open to your needs. After each and every encounter with Him, may we, like this woman, never be the same.
