From Weariness To Peace

Job 15:17-35

Edmund Sears wrote a Christmas carol that says, “All ye, beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low, who toil along the climbing way, with painful steps and slow, Look now! for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing: O rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing!”

You don’t have to look long to find examples of what he was referring to a hundred and fifty years ago. There were the gathering storm clouds of civil war and upheaval brought by the industrial revolution in his native New England. All you need to do is to listen to the feelings expressed all around us. There are plenty of people today who can testify to crushing loads and painful steps, plenty who are asking for just a little bit of rest beside the weary road.

If there is any one thing I’ve heard this year as we enter the Christmas season, from more people than ever before, it is this: “I’m exhausted. I’m tired” There is weariness everywhere. The whole world seems tired and disappointed. Haven’t you said it too, “I’m just plain exhausted”? It’s only a couple of weeks until Christmas and we’ve been mauled in the malls, we have more month than money, we haven’t found “perfect gift”! We’re exhausted, aren’t we?

How can we replenish our energy? How can we recover from our exhaustion? It seems deeper than what a night’s rest will cure. There is something more exhausting than ordinary work, and so something more powerful is needed to bring us back to life, to revitalize us and revive us. How can we deal with our exhaustion?

The Bible has a wonderful image for the condition I am speaking about. It’s something everyone in Israel would have grasped instantly. The Bible speaks of exhaustion as a time when the olive trees would no longer flourish, a time when the ripe olives which had sustained the people for so many years would not grow and the blossoms would fly from the olive trees. Job 15:20-24, 28-33. “All his days the wicked man suffers torment, the ruthless through all the years stored up for him. Terrifying sounds fill his ears; when all seems well, marauders attack him. He despairs of escaping the darkness; he is marked for the sword. He wanders about—food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand. Distress and anguish fill him with terror; they overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack, he will inhabit ruined towns and houses where no one lives, houses crumbling to rubble. He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land. He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away. Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless, for he will get nothing in return. Before his time he will be paid in full, and his branches will not flourish. He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.

Not a pretty picture, is it? It’s a depressing image of despair and unhappiness. And the image, there at the end of the passage, of the olive blossoms shedding its blossoms, is the worst of all. To us, you see, the olive is a little fruit that we use in a salad or is sliced on a pizza. Some may even float in some non-Baptist beverages! To us the olive is a small thing, an extra. We could without olives. But not in ancient Israel, the world into which Jesus came! Olives provided not just food, but oil for heating, cooking, light, and ingredients for ointments and medicine, and the olive tree provided fine wood for carpentry. The olive was easy to grow, it didn’t require much water, and it even grew in rocky soil. And a good olive tree could be productive for more than a hundred years. If there was any one symbol of something inexhaustible, it was the olive tree. But this nagging image of exhaustion, this warning that the people will cast off the olive blossoms and be barren is a threat. If the olive tree doesn’t produce, how will they live? They depend on it and without it they will be exhausted! What exhausts mankind? 3 things…

1. We Live In An Exhausting World

The world into which Jesus was born was an exhausted world, in which it seemed that everything valuable was gone and nothing for which people had hoped was ever going to come. The world was a place in spiritual, social, and political crisis. Everything people had depended was crumbling. The temples were deserted, the old religious practices of Greece and Rome were sneered at, and in the place of the old faith there almost nothing.

A. Some found strength in superstitions. They followed anything that appeared to have a spiritual base, strange cults, mystery religions, they were called, only to be disappointed when nothing bore fruit. The world was a place of exhaustion.

B. Others, in Jesus day, tried politics. They gave up on democracy and self-rule, and turned to mere men, the Caesars, who set themselves up as gods and demanded worship. Who cared if the emperor had his mistresses and used the poor for sport? Teflon Caesar they could have been called. What an exhaustion of soul there must have been for otherwise intelligent people to have fallen for such a deception! It was an exhausted world.

C. Some tried religion. Even among the people of God, though there were many who remained faithful to God, still there was a spiritual emptiness, an exhaustion. Some had taken God’s wonderful relationship with His chosen people, and had turned it into a barren legalism. They had rules and regulations that had thus squeezed the life out of their faith. Others had transformed the hope that Israel would be a light to the nations into a kind of exclusive club. They had made God’s efforts to reach all humanity into a closed group, for the privileged few, and looked down their noses at all others. They became worn out, spiritually. Like the olive tree they had shed their blossoms.

The world into which Jesus was born was a weary, exhausted world. Much like our own. I hear the voices of weariness, spiritual weariness, right here in Redding, CA 2000 years later. I see some olive trees who shed their blossoms and are exhausted.

2. We Are Exhausted by Conflict

Conflict breaks everywhere. I am not speaking of the Middle East conflict, although that certainly is a source of weariness. Who can get a grasp on how to resolve ancient conflicts in Iraq, in Zaire, in northern Ireland, or Israel? The world is weary of waiting for peace to break out.

A. There’s a societal conflict. I am thinking of the ongoing atmosphere of conflict that permeates every sector of our society. Our state politics are stirred by conflicts that have an underlying theme of suspicion in them. We as a people distrusted our governor to the point that for the first time in history, CA removed a sitting governor from office. It’s exhausting, isn’t it? Even God, who gives life to this city, state, and nation, is being transformed into a source of conflict. I feel that olive blossom being cast off and lost.

B. There’s a moral conflict. Our world is exhausted by its own moral uncertainty. We find that there is no right and wrong any more. In moral confusion we find ourselves forced to swallow things that once were unthinkable. We’ve found that we cannot drive into a shopping center and walk into a store without hiding our packages in the trunk, locking our doors, and turning on the alarm system. We’ve found the person who calls at supper time and offers to repair our driveway or our leaking roof is likely a fraud. On and on it goes. Moral confusion causes exhaustion in a world like ours.

And we hear that one of our national leaders has admitted that he gave “inaccurate information.” Inaccurate information? That sounds like a fancy word for a lie to me! It makes us want to give up on politics, just as they did in Jesus’ time! I feel exhausted, don’t you? Oh, preacher, lighten up!

Hey, did you know that even Santa Claus feels frustrated and exhausted?!

‘Twas the night before Christmas and Santa’s a wreck... How to live in a world that’s politically correct? -- His workers no longer would answer to “Elves.” “Vertically challenged” they were calling themselves. And labor conditions at the north pole -- Were alleged by the union to stifle the soul.

Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety, -- Released to the wilds by the Humane Society. And equal employment had made it quite clear -- That Santa had better not use just reindeer. -- So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid, Were replaced with four pigs, and you know that looked stupid!

The runners had been removed from his sleigh; The ruts were termed dangerous by the EPA. And people had started to call for the cops -- When they heard sled noises on their roof-tops. -- Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened.
His fur-trimmed suit was called “unenlightened.” -- And to show you the strangeness of life’s ebbs and flows, -- Rudolf was suing over unauthorized use of his nose -- And had gone on Geraldo, in front of the nation, -- Demanding millions in overdue compensation.

So half of the reindeer were gone, and his wife, -- Who suddenly said she’d enough of this life, -- Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz, -- Demanding from now on that her title was Ms.

And as for the gifts, why, he’d ne’er had a notion -- That making a choice could cause so much commotion. -- Nothing that might be construed to pollute, -- Nothing to aim, nothing to shoot. -- Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise. -- Nothing for just girls, or just for the boys. -- Nothing that claimed to be gender specific, -- Nothing that’s warlike or non-pacific. -- No candy or sweets, they were bad for the tooth. -- Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth. -- and fairy tales, while not yet forbidden, -- Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden. For they raised the hackles of those psychological -- Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological. -- No baseball, not football, someone could get hurt; -- Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt. -- Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passé, -- And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.

So Santa just stood there, disheveled, perplexed; -- he just could not figure out what to do next. -- He tried to be merry, tried to be gay, -- But you’ve got to be careful with that word today. -- His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground; -- Nothing fully acceptable was there to be found. -- Something special was needed, a gift that he might -- Give to all without angering the left or the right. -- A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision, -- Each group of people, and every religion; -- Every ethnicity, every hue -- Everyone, everywhere .. even you. So here is that gift, it’s price beyond worth . --“May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth.”

Well, that makes my point. And it leads to another. It makes the point that we feel exhaustion, like the olive branch whose blossoms are shed. But, this points us to something else. It points us to the source of peace in the midst of our frustrations.

3. We’re Exhausted By Not Knowing Jesus

John 1:10-14 “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (NIV)

Jesus came, invested himself, and was not known or accepted. God too has had a hard time getting things done by mankind. God must feel exhausted, like the olive tree with its blossoms shed. But the difference between God and man is that God acted. God did not wring His hands in frustration. God acted. “And the word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen His glory .. full of grace and truth.” We have seen His glory .. and to all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God. God, by giving us Jesus, gave us the source of power and peace.

The word was made flesh, and in Jesus, God tasted our frustrations and our limitations. He felt what we fell and knows what it is like to live in weariness. We are not alone in our exhaustion; the Lord of Lords has walked this way too. He understands, because God’s word was made flesh, and in Jesus God has come to show us how to live in His presence and power. He has come to give us a living demonstration of integrity and compassion, of hope and healing. In Jesus God has entered into the realities of pain and suffering, anguish and frustration, and has reached out a healing hand. In Jesus God has painted a picture of human life as it was intended, full of grace and truth. And God has said, follow Him, and you can live above your frustrations. Follow Him, and I will give you power to overcome weariness. You can be healed and your exhaustion can be replenished.

The word was made flesh, and in Jesus God has acted to give meaning to our deepest disappointments. He, born in a stable and 33 years later would climb a hill to pour out his heart, his soul, and his very life for us. On the Mount of Olives He prayed for the power to give His precious life for the life of the world.

What a picture! That out of the exhaustion of a people, described as like an olive blossom shed, God would send His own son to the Mount of Olives to pray and to find strength to do what must be done.

My favorite Christmas song is O Holy Night. In that great carol it says, “Long lay the world in sin and error pining, ‘til He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder dawns a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices, O night devine, O night when Christ was born.”

Maybe today you feel exhausted and weary, and think that the things you’ve given yourself to are of no value and don’t matter. It may be that you feel discouraged and think your work’s in vain. I want to tell you that Jesus is here to revive your soul again. For the word has become flesh, and still dwells among us, and still gives us power to become the children of God. In Him our weariness is healed and our exhaustion replenished.