Unshackled Moments ~ July 26 ~ Weary

I wake up in the morning, and I raise my weary head.

~ Jon Bon Jovi

For three days in a row now I have woken up with this line from the song "Blaze Of Gory" going through my head. The only good part about it is that I hear it in Jovi's voice rather than my own. This line is the opening of the song, and it tells a lot about the man the song is about. He has not rested. He slept, but when he  wakes up he is still weary. The song is about Billy the Kid's life on the run, and while I am sure that life was not a restful one, I had not considered the opening line of the song's meaning before.

But I did think about it once I began waking up with it. It would have been bad enough if the entire song was stuck in my head, but that first line playing repeatedly like an old wax record with a scratch stuck on repeat was too weird. I hadn't listened to that song in a long time. Why come up now? Why only that part? Why three days in a row? Why? Because I am weary. I have been sleeping, but I have not been resting at night.

I am weary. The sad thing is that I didn't realize it. Oh, I knew I woke without much energy for a while now. I knew I felt tired. But I really didn't realize that I had reached the point of wariness. In my mind, weary just feels heavier than tired. But once I realize I am weary I realize there's an answer. I have been trying to fix my exhaustion with relaxation and pleasure and breaks from work and responsibilities. But Jesus said that when we are weary it's not a vacation we need or early retirement but Him. He said. "Come to me if you are weary, and I will give you rest." True rest is found in Him. When we lay our burdens on Him, the burdens of our past, the burdens of what is to come and needs to be done along with the burdens of the present, and exchange them for God's will and directive for our life which by grace the Spirit helps us carry, we discover a yoke that is easy, and burden that is light, and rest for our souls.

Today I will push in close to Jesus as my source of rest. I am thankful for the reminder that no matter what the problem Jesus is the answer.