Winning Though Weary

There are numerous times in the Bible when a phrase sticks out like a sore thumb.

Judges 8:4 is one of those verses in the Word of God that grabs my soul big time!
 
“Then Gideon and the three hundred men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary but pursuing.” Judges 8:4
 
“Weary but pursuing” is one of those phrases to me.
 
Background and scenario. Study Judges 6-8:  Gideon, called a “valiant warrior” by God, tried to wiggle out of his call to deliver the nation of Israel from her enemies. His personal protests were of no avail. The Lord promised to be with Gideon. God would glorify Himself through Gideon’s small, but mighty army of 300 warriors. Though outnumbered and outgunned (they had swords didn’t they!), they tore down altars of false worship, routing and defeating 120,000 enemy soldiers.
 

• In Judges 8, Gideon and his army, though tired from numerous battles, kept pursuing their enemy until they were thoroughly defeated. The victory was astonishing. Even more amazing was the fact that Gideon and company, bone weary from fighting, physically fatigued and emotionally spent, kept after the enemy until the mission was complete.  

 
Point: Weariness did not keep Gideon and God’s army from winning. Though tired, they pursued the enemy until their adversaries were defeated.
 
As I read my Bible, Gideon and his 300 men did not have a shot of Red Bull to hype them up while making war on their enemy. They pursued their adversary without a caffeine fix. Bottom line: the soldiers were tired from fighting. But tiredness did not stop them from completing their mission.
 
They pursued the fleeing enemy army until they were thoroughly destroyed, no longer a threat to God’s people.
 
Though “weary but pursuing,” Gideon’s army relied on God’s strength to complete their objective.
 
Let us be honest. Life is tiring. You and I become weary at times as we journey through this life. And all the readers said AMEN! Someone commented “Tired men run the world.”  Maybe that is why we have so many less than wise decisions, policies and programs because “tired men” make them. Just a thought.  
 
“Weary but pursuing” challenges me to evaluate my commitment to God’s plan for my life. I have counseled with people who check out on God’s best for them because they are tired. Countless I have heard in the counseling setting “I am so tired I want to quit.”
           

• I submit that we start losing when we surrender to tiredness. You and I stop winning when we cave in to weariness. 

 
Think with me for a moment. Athletes tire, but that does not deter them from competing for the prize. Business people are weary week after week, but they do not quit doing business. Parents can be worn out in a hurry raising their offspring, but they always rise up to the occasion to take care of their children. Evil men and women become weary too, but being tired does not keep them from disseminating evil.
 
·      Weary and not pursuing gets us nowhere. Weary and pursuing, with God’s help, takes us somewhere.
 
So, how do you and I keep on winning though weary? Jesus invites His weary ones to come to Him to receive rest.
 
            “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart: and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My load is light.”           Matthew 11:28-30.
 
Christians keep winning though weary by seeking and receiving rest from the Lord. The Lord renews us for each and every round of battle. As we yoke up with Jesus, we learn from Him how to be restful in our souls as we fight the good fight of faith.
 
Certainly, Jesus was weary when He went to die on the Cross. Tired beyond tired through the torturous suffering He endured, the Lord secured salvation for you and me. His shed blood and the glorious resurrection from the dead sealed the deal.
 
Though weary, Jesus was victorious! “Weary but pursuing” His Father’s will, Jesus won!!!
 
Like Jesus, Christians become weary but are victorious winners in Christ!
 
How To Win Though Weary
 

• Realize weariness is part of life. Do not deny it…do not cover it.
• Recognize what makes you weary and when you reach your tired limits.
• Regularly retreat to find spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional rest in the Lord.
• Refuse to quit simply because you are tired. Take your tired to Jesus.
• Run to win. Run your race in the renewing strength of the Lord.
• Resolve to fulfill God’s good, acceptable and perfect will and plan for your life.
• Rejoice that God makes us winners though weary!

 
Currently tired? Worn out? Weary? Seek refreshing from the Lord…. then keep winning in Jesus’ name!
 
“And do not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.“                                                                                               Galatians 6:9
 
“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”                                  Hebrews 6:11-12
 
A Word For Your Week: Keep pursuing God’s will and plan for your life in the renewing power of the Holy Spirit.