Are You Tired Too?

Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. (John 4:6)

Is it wrong of me to be a little glad to see that Jesus got tired too?

I mean, you can certainly make the case that He was tired because he was traveling everywhere (which likely meant walking), teaching people and healing them.

I'm tired because I keep staying up late.

But why do I stay up? Because I love blogging. I absolutely love it. There is nothing more fun for me right now than thinking about something to blog about, writing it, and responding to people's comments. And as often as I can, I read other peoples' blogs, which in turn will give me more ideas for my own.

But all I know is that I have been exhausted since the first day of the fast. Well, Tuesday I took a half day so I could get some sleep, because I don't think I would have made it through the week at all otherwise, so Tuesday I felt pretty good. But then came Wednesday, and now today, and I look at the list of things I have yet to do tonight after I get home from working out and even if I don't blog and I only do that list it's still probably going to be late when I'm done.

So I kinda like to know that Jesus got tired too.

But of course when you read about Jesus there aren't too many stories where He tells the disciples to go on without him because he needs to rest. (Of course it never talks about anyone doing laundry either, and I'm sure that happened.) But really, Jesus may have gotten tired, but he rarely stopped. He might wait by a well and send the others for food, but isn't it just interesting that he would never have had the opportunity with the Samaritan woman if his disciples had been there saying snarky things about Samaritans?

Even when He was at rest he was working towards his next divine appointment.

What, then, is the takeaway? Well, I would say it's that we should accept that tiredness happens, and rest when we can so we are always ready for the next divine appointment, and remember that Jesus often pushed through being tired, yet he was constantly connected to God, so He knew where His strength came from. And he often went alone to pray, which was probably the best "recharge" ever. But nowhere did it say that Jesus decreed that we should be workaholics or abuse ourselves in an attempt to do everything.

And so I think the most important nugget in there is the prayer. If we keep ourselves constantly connected to God, He will both sustain and recharge us, but he will also tell us when what we need most is to just go to bed.

God, please grant me the energy I need to get through today. Help me to keep my mind focused and sharp so I may do the work that is set before me, and give me the strength I need to keep my emotions from bubbling over (as they too often do when I am tired). Please help me to ba a calming influence on others, instead of seeing calm from them. And when the day is done, lead me to my bed so I may find rest. Amen.