“Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, 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 will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV)

So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 (NRSV)

In Time Magazine, an article was published about what is destroying family life in the United States. The article was not about violence, infidelity, drugs, or educational problems. It’s just that people are too busy, and we live this frantic, soul-depleting pace of life, which is driving us all crazy.

The obvious question is, “Why do we all do that?” Nobody plans on being burnt out; nobody graduates from school and says, “I want to sign up for a life of chronic fatigue, exhaustion, and depression,” but it happens all the time.

The American devotional writer Lettie Cowman wrote about a traveler visiting Africa and engaging a group of carriers and guides. Hoping to make her journey a swift one, she was pleased with the progress they had covered in the many miles that first day. On the second day, though, all the carriers she had hired remained seated and refused to move. She was greatly frustrated and asked the leader of her hired hands why they would not continue the journey. He told her that on the first day, they had traveled too far too fast, and now they were waiting for their souls to catch up to their bodies.

Have you ever felt the need for time and space to let your soul catch up with your body? That’s a good indication your soul needs rest.

The character for “busyness” in Chinese is a combination of the characters for “tearing” and “heart.” One friend even told me that it can mean heart-death. When our busyness gets the better of us, it does violence to our souls.

I read an article that I have lost track of, but it listed the following signs of burnout or, as I am calling it, the soul sickness of weariness.

Signs of Weariness

1. Your motivation has faded. 

The passion that fuels you is gone, and your motivation has either vaporized or become self-centered.

2. Your main emotion is ‘numbness’ – you no longer feel the highs or the lows. 

3. People drain you. 

Of course, there are draining people on the best of days. But not everybody, every time. Weariness often means few to no people energize you anymore.

4. Little things make you disproportionately angry. 

When you start losing your cool over small things, it’s a sign that something deeper is very wrong.

5. You’re becoming cynical. 

Many leaders fight this one, but cynicism rarely finds a home in a healthy heart.

6. Your productivity is dropping. 

You might be working long hours, but you’re producing little of value. Or what used to take you 5 minutes just took you 45. That’s a warning bell.

7.  You’re self-medicating. 

Your coping mechanism has gone underground or dark. Whether that’s overeating, overworking, drinking, impulsive spending, or even drugs, you’ve chosen a path of self-medication over self-care. Ironically, some people’s self-medication was actually more work, which just spirals things downward.

8. You don’t laugh anymore.

Nothing seems fun or funny, and, at its worst, you begin to resent people who enjoy life.

9. Sleep and time off no longer refuel you. 

Sometimes you’re not weary; you’re just tired. A good night’s sleep or a week or two off will help most healthy people bounce back with fresh energy. But you could have a month off when you’re weary and not feel any difference. Not being refueled when you take time off is a major warning sign that you’re weary.

Identifying with just a few of these signs might just be a sign that you’re tired. If you identify with most or all of these, you might be weary.

There is a distinction between weariness and being tired. I can find myself tired if I don’t get enough sleep at night. I am tired if I split a cord of firewood. That is natural. But I believe weariness is something different. Weariness is a sign of soul-sickness.

What is the cure?

Jesus has an invitation: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Doesn’t that sound good? Come to me, anyone who is weary—not just in your body, but in your soul—and I’ll give you rest. Then he says something quite surprising. He says, “Take My yoke upon you.” Doesn’t that strike you as a somewhat odd thing to offer to tired people? A yoke? An instrument of burden? He doesn’t say, “Take my orthopedic mattress or my La-Z-Boy recliner. He says, “Take my yoke.” Why does He do that?

The word “yoke” is used over 50 times in the Bible. It almost always involves a picture of being in submission to someone or something.

“Bow your neck under the yoke of the King of Babylon. Serve him and his people.” Jeremiah 27:12

“…Do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery…”  Galatians 5:1

Everybody wears a yoke. Jesus knew this. A yoke is whatever cause, dream, or goal you hook your life to —whatever you submit your life to.

To identify potential yoke, ask yourself:

“What is the thing that, if I lost it, would drain all meaning from my life?” 

“What thing do I seek to give me what only God can really give?”

We all use our time and energy. We all submit our lives to something. And every yoke besides Jesus has a way of turning into slavery, and it will ultimately crush you. And so, Jesus says, “Take my yoke on you. Take my way of life on you. And if you dare to do that—if you trust me with your time—you will find rest for your souls.”

In 2000 years, Jesus has never led anyone into exhaustion or discouragement.

Never.

Read the following poem/blessing written by the Irish mystic and poet, the late John O’Donohue. Read it aloud and slowly. It will bless you.

For One Who Is Exhausted

By John O’Donohue

When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,

Time takes on the strain until it breaks;

Then all the unattended stress falls in

On the mind like an endless, increasing weight.

The light in the mind becomes dim.

Things you could take in your stride before

Now become laborsome events of will.

Weariness invades your spirit.

Gravity begins falling inside you,

Dragging down every bone.

The tide you never valued has gone out.

And you are marooned on unsure ground.

Something within you has closed down;

And you cannot push yourself back to life.

You have been forced to enter empty time.

The desire that drove you has relinquished.

There is nothing else to do now but rest

And patiently learn to receive the self

You have forsaken in the race of days.

At first your thinking will darken

And sadness take over like listless weather.

The flow of unwept tears will frighten you.

You have traveled too fast over false ground;

Now your soul has come to take you back.

Take refuge in your senses, open up

To all the small miracles you rushed through.

Become inclined to watch the way of rain

When it falls slow and free.

Imitate the habit of twilight,

Taking time to open the well of color

That fostered the brightness of day.

Draw alongside the silence of stone

Until its calmness can claim you.

Be excessively gentle with yourself.

Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.

Learn to linger around someone of ease

Who feels they have all the time in the world.

Gradually, you will return to yourself,

Having learned a new respect for your heart

And the joy that dwells far within slow time.

The invitation is to come to the cure for weariness. And that cure is not a formula; it is a person. Then and only then will your soul catch up with your body.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)