When Walt Disney animated the story of Snow White, he created seven memorable - if short - characters - the Seven Dwarfs. Yes, you can be short and memorable. No, I'm not going to ask you to name all seven dwarfs - I don't think I can. But I can remember that little song they sang on the way to work. Now, they didn't exactly work in a climate-controlled office building. They worked in a mine all day. But each day, they would merrily march off to their job singing, "Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work we go." What a great way to approach your work each day.
Anyone who can tackle their responsibilities with a song is no dwarf. He or she is a giant!
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You about "Prescription For A Weary Worker."
I was at a meeting of people who are busy in Christian ministry. And one woman there expressed a feeling that almost everyone in the room agreed with - "People working for the Lord around here quit or get discouraged because of one word - weariness."
A lot of men and women who have spiritual responsibility struggle with a deep weariness - far beyond physical. There was a time when they went to their day's work singing - but not now. They're tired of pushing, of being one of the few people who cares, of little results for lots of work, they're tired of not being appreciated. Maybe you say, "How did you know?" After 34 years in the Lord's service, I've not only been there, done that - but I've had many brothers and sisters who have been there, too.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Hebrews 12:2-4. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood."
Here's a prescription for weary workers - actually a preventive prescription. The writer says, "Keep your eyes on Jesus so you won't get tired and discouraged." There is a special kind of weariness that can afflict those who step up to spiritual responsibility. The deep emotional kind that saps your physical strength, too - from being surrounded by needs and demands, from being one of the too few carrying the too much, from long hours, financial shortfalls, relationship frustrations.
God's diagnosis here doesn't mention any of the pressures or stresses of ministry as being the ultimate cause of our weariness - the cause is taking your eyes off Jesus. You say, "I know that." Probably. But maybe you've been doing God's work in your strength. You know better, but you've gone from God working through you to the crank-it-out weariness of you working for God. You're focused on the tasks, the to do list, the workload.
Or it could be that you've been focusing on the results you're getting instead of the Savior you're serving. Or maybe you've gotten your eyes on the people around you - their problems, their negative points, their approval. Focusing on people, on jobs, on results - it just wears you out.
The Bible tells us Jacob worked hard for seven years to be able to marry Rachel - "But they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her." When your work is all about loving the person you're working for, the time flies and the burden is much lighter.
If you're in Weary Valley, you're prone to discouragement, to thoughts of quitting what you were called to do, to mechanical ministry. It's time to get your eyes back on Jesus. It was His love that compelled you to serve in the first place. Go back to the cross, where you came in.
And come back to the love, to the simple "Jesus, this is for You" that brought you here in the first place. Then you'll be able to join the song of that saint - the longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows."