-Part I-
In case you have not yet met Fran, let me introduce you. She is a fictional workplace woman, a young widow with two school-aged children. I tell these stories for two reasons: to help us learn to practice the presence of Jesus in our everyday lives, and to teach biblical principles through story-telling. The fictional conversations that Jesus has with Fran are based on Scripture and I believe true to Scripture. And it is simply a reminder to us that through his Spirit and his Word, Jesus does speak to us, if we just have ears to hear.
Fran’s husband was killed suddenly a few years ago and since then she’s been forced to go back into the work force and earn a living for herself and her kids. It’s been a bumpy road at times, but Fran has been learning many lessons from the Lord along the way. She has also been a testimony and a light for Jesus in her workplace.
On this Tuesday afternoon, Fran has just finished an intensive meeting with one of her clients. As she walks back into her office, she flops down at her desk and unloads the pile of work that is a result of the meeting. She says out loud to herself, “I’m never going to get all this done. It’s just too much!”
“Not like you to talk to yourself so negatively,” Jesus says quietly to her. As long as she and Jesus have been walking together, she still is often startled to remember that he is always there beside her, aware of everything she says or thinks.
“Oh, sorry, Lord,” Fran sits up straight, “I didn’t mean to complain, but. . .”
“But you’re tired,” Jesus says. “I understand. I was often tired, too, when I was on earth. Remember when I went sound to sleep on the boat during the storm!?”
Fran smiles. “I imagine the disciples were incredulous to see you sleeping through that terrible storm. You must have been really tired.
“I was, Fran. I’d been with people, giving so much of myself for so long—you know, even though I was fully God I was also fully man so my body got tired just like yours does.”
“That’s kind of hard for me to realize, Lord,” Fran says. “I mean, I can’t imagine you ever struggling with being tired like me.”
“Fran,” Jesus replies, “I was in all ways tempted like you are, don’t you remember? I went through every emotion, every temptation, every frustration that you’ll ever face. I understand what it’s like to be tired.”
Fran smiles. “That really encourages me, Lord,” she says, “but how did you cope with it?”
“Well,” Jesus answers, “for one thing, when I was tired, I got some rest. There are times when nothing but some sleep will truly help. You know, when your body is overly tired, you start saying and doing things you really don’t want to say or do; you lose control.”
“Yeah, like me starting to get negative,” Fran remembers. “That’s not usually like me, but because I’m tired, I fall back into those negative ways of thinking.”
“Sure,” Jesus says, “your physical resources are drained and it’s easy to fall into those traps. Also, when you’re tired, everything looks worse than it really is—like that stack of work on your desk.”
Fran groans. “Oh, I wish you hadn’t mentioned it,” she sighs. “One meeting with a client generated two weeks of work!”
“Two weeks?” Jesus asks. “Do you really think so, or is your mind playing tricks on you?”
“You mean, it’s not as bad as it looks right now because I’m tired,” Fran muses. “Yeah, you’re right, Lord. I just need to get home and get some rest. And that’s what I’m going to do—it’s five o’clock.” And with that she grabs her bag and heads for her car.
As Fran pulls into her driveway this Tuesday evening, she is tired but she faces another job—her most important assignment as mother of her two kids. Since her husband’s untimely death, she’s tried to be mom and dad to the kids, hold down a busy job, continue her commitments to her church and keep some semblance of a social life going with friends and family.
She walks into the house with the kids and immediately they begin with When’s dinner going to be ready? I’m hungry? What are we having? I don’t like meat loaf! Where’s my notebook? I can’t do this homework! . . . and all the other things that they turn to Fran for on a regular basis. Normally she handles it without a hitch, but tonight she’s so tired that her reaction is rather abrupt.
“Listen, Drew, just give me a minute to change my clothes, will you? How many times have I asked you to just give me a few minutes to myself and then I’ll answer all your questions,” Fran says to her ten-year-old son.
“Gee, Mom, what’s the matter?” Drew looks at her with injured eyes.
Fran feels guilty. “Nothing, Drew, I’m just tired, that’s all; now just give me a few minutes, okay?”
“Mommy,” Alice walks in the kitchen, “I didn’t have a good day today because Jimmy made fun of my hair again. He said it was the color of carrots; he called me carrot-top and that made me so mad and Mrs. Nelson didn’t say a thing to him. And I’m going to hit him next time he says that to me. . .”
“Alice,” Fran says, “how many times have I told you not to pay any attention to Jimmy. Now, please, let’s not go through this again. You’ve got to learn how to deal with Jimmy, Alice.”
Alice’s face drops and she walks glumly out of the room. “Fran,” Jesus says quietly to her, “did you really want to say that to Alice? You know how big a deal this is for her.”
Fran feels guilty again. “Oh, Lord, I’m sorry; I’m just so tired. . .”
“I know, but you can’t allow that to create a problem with your kids,” he says. “Why don’t you let me help you when you’re tired?”
Fran reacts as though Jesus has said something she never thought of before. Jesus continues, “You haven’t even asked me to help you; I can, you know.”
Fran shakes her head. “I’m so sorry, Lord. Please, please help me. If you can just get me through the next two hours until I have the kids in bed, then I can collapse myself and get some rest. Please, Lord, help.”
“I’ll be glad to,” Jesus says. And with that, Fran gets dinner ready, apologizes to the kids, helps them with homework, counsels Alice about Jimmy, and says their prayers with them as she tucks them in bed. Then indeed, she collapses into some much needed sleep herself.
Well, I know I can relate to Fran, can’t you? When we’re overly tired we can create all kinds of problems for ourselves. Notice what happened to Fran:
First, she became negative. When we’re overtaken with fatigue, nothing looks good and everything looks bad. So, we tend to look on the dark side of whatever is going on in our lives and miss anything good.
Second, she tended to exaggerate and her problems looked much larger than they were. Her assessment of her workload was unrealistic because in her exhausted state, everything looked bad. That put her in a “Catch-22” situation: Because she was tired, she imagined she had much more to do than she had to do, and that made her even more tired! I’ve been there and done that, how about you?
Then third, her tired state caused her to be short with her children and take some of her frustration out on them. Usually being over-tired will have a detrimental effect on our relationships. Those are the times when we say things we don’t mean; when we have very little patience; when we take out our exhaustion on those closest to us.
As Jesus explained to Fran, he understands what it means to be tired in your body. He lived for thirty-three years in a human body and went through everything we’ll ever go through, so he’s more than able to empathize with you when you’re tired. But at the same time, he wants to give you the power to be an overcomer even when you’re tired.
What are some lessons we need to learn about being tired? First, it happens to everyone. Second, we should be aware that we’re not likely to have good control of ourselves when we’re tired. That just means we have to lean on Jesus at those times and get his strength to carry us through. Third, we should avoid excessive tiredness as much as possible.
What is causing you to be overly tired? I think of a woman I know who finds her identity and her worth in working long, long hours. It has become such a crutch for her that she finds it difficult to break the habit. Yet she frequently wants to tell you how hard she works and how tired she is. No doubt that’s true, but much of it is self-inflicted.
Is your tiredness self-inflicted? Perhaps you are not a good steward of your body—not getting enough rest or eating right or exercising, and that will cause you to be tired much more easily. Could it be that you take on too many jobs or try to do too much and that causes excessive fatigue? It’s very important that we examine ourselves and see where we are contributing to our own problem through poor habits or lifestyles.
Isaiah wrote: “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:30-31). And David wrote: “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him” (Ps. 62:1).
When you’re weary, learn the secret of finding rest in God. That means getting alone with him and asking him for rest; requesting that he renew your strength. Psalm 91:1 reminds us: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”
Remember, Jesus asked Fran why she had not asked him for help since she was so tired. Isn’t it funny how we’ll just keep plodding along as though Jesus is of no help to us when we’re really tired? How foolish of us. I think maybe our brains just don’t function so well, and we find ourselves falling back into “self-control” mode instead of running to the shelter of the Most High to find rest.
If you neglect time with God, it will not help you overcome your fatigue. The secret dwelling place of the Most High is a great place to renew your strength.