Jeremiah 31:25 – the Weary Soul

 "For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish."

Jeremiah 31:25 (ESV)


Weariness is the constant side effect of God's work in our hearts and minds. Real growth is often followed by exhaustion. Allow yourself to feel it, without dwelling in it.

Nothing worth having comes at a cheap price. Even when we allow God to work within us, it can be really straining. Just like we grow physically weary, so do our spirits. The Bible tells us not to grow weary, but in the same way that we're commanded not to grow fainthearted and not to fear. Instead of implying that we're actively betraying Him by doing so, God is making a command to encourage us. We'll always grow tired from His work in our hearts; correction exhausts us. But Proverbs 3 shows us that He stretches the souls of those He loves. Reproof is a gift. He uses correction to make us better – to make us disciplined. Even in this verse, God is making a promise to restore the people of Israel, even though Judah will have to be destroyed first. Allowing destruction out of love – like a controlled burn. I'm not meant to fully understand it.

Even so, our spirits have to process those side effects, one of which is weariness. I've experienced that side effect a lot lately. For growth, there's a lot of thinking to be done, and I grow tired of thinking. Sometimes I'd rather feel the truth rather than just knowing it, if that makes sense. I'm jealous of those that can put their minds on auto-pilot. The ability to do that can help guard someone from being controlled by certain emotions. But everyone has a different way of managing their mentals, their own personal set of strengths and weakness, that God knows exactly how to utilize in His molding of their spirit.

Molding is a good word for it – it requires a lot of mutation. Stretching, pressing, twisting. All to give shape to living material. Changing shape requires us to allow our identity and personality to be reformed from the shapeless figure that sin makes us take, and even when we're in a similar shape to what would be ideal, staying that way requires us to let him hold that shape. It's exhausting! It feels right embracing my "own" shape, even though it only feels that way for a short time.

A "languishing" soul is one that becomes weak and feeble. Quite literally meaning that our souls lack strength – strength that they need to shape themselves, and hold that shape. I may be strong in Him through my weakness, but it certainly won't feel that way all the time. When I'm tired, it feels easier to be influenced by emotion, by memories of the past and anxieties of the future. Sometimes the best thing to do is let yourself feel those things and let them pass through you, without letting them spiral too far or spill out through your actions and words to others. You don't have to believe the emotions, but you can still allow yourself to feel them. Give yourself an opportunity to sit with your weariness, so that you can rest and recover without repressing everything.

I'm thankful to experience just a piece of the same exhaustion and brokenness that Jesus could feel from the world around Him. I'm thankful that the entirety of the sin of Man doesn't rest on my shoulders, but only the sin that I encounter myself. Even then, I have the help I need to keep my shape, when that sin starts to get to me. I'm thankful for whoever's reading this – you have your own struggles and sin that makes you weary. What a beautiful thing that we're all held together by the same loving Creator. 

Take courage.

"Give me the strength not to stay weary, while you give my spirit the shape you want it to have."

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