Psalm 23 “I Am So Tired” 5/12/2019 Boardman United Methodist Church Rev. Jerry W. Krueger
“Boys, time to get up for school. Dad, let me sleep 10 more minutes, I’m so tired.”
Sometimes we wake up tired. Maybe dreading a day of routine, demands, stress or the mundane. All of us have uttered, “I am so tired.”
Psalm 23 is a Song of Trust. Like Psalm 1, 11, 62, 121, and 131, and identifies the Lord as “shepherd.” And Christians know God walks with them daily, in every situation. Good or not so good.
- 2 & 3 inform us that resting in green pastures like a sheep would do, leading us to water and food, means God through Christ provides at every step, at every life juncture.
Psalm 23 affirms God guiding, leading, comforting, and sustaining us in difficulty, He anoints and pours out goodness and mercy upon us, and we get to live with God through Christ forever, if we profess him.
Christ our shepherd leads us to rest in him, to drink deeply of the cup of salvation, and to partake in the bread of life, just like we did last week at the Communion table. And God allows us rest.
In speaking with a student not long ago, they told me how they were so tired. They shared about getting up early for school, all day classes, sports after school, home for a late dinner, piles of homework, then to bed, and up again day after day. “I am so tired,” they said.
The young parents told me they were “so tired,” never able to catch up on sleep because they had smaller children at home, and one starting school. Changing diapers, fixing breakfast, putting bows in hair, dressing kids, getting them to school , home to straighten the house, go to work, fix lunch, nap for the child, get the other child off the bus, pick up groceries, a doctor visit, and have a conversation with kids and spouse some time. “I’m so tired.”
Work is grinding. Up early, suck down a cup of coffee, go to work, planning, working all day, relentless pace, not much time to break for even a few minutes, then home. Work in the evening to cut the grass, fix dinner, started a load of laundry, make a hurried grocery list, do some more work, then to bed, and oh yes, talk to the kids or spouse, maybe. “I’m so tired.” And so it goes in each of our lives.
Each of us has felt worn out, tired, and weary. And that is when Psalm 23 should be foremost in our minds, not just at a funeral. “He leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul.” Christ restores MY soul. That means I am not forgotten in daily life, Christ will restore me.
If you run a machine at full capacity with no down time, the mechanism will eventually fail. Are we like that? Going full speed, hurrying through our day, heading to the next event, appointment, meeting, or function?
I ask you, are you taking time to rest, to have your soul restored? And no, you do not have permission to skip out on Sunday, because that is “your only day to rest.” Rest on Friday night. “No, I party then.” Rest on Saturday. “No, I have free time, I sleep on Sunday. God will always be there. Give it a rest preacher.”
We serve a God who loves us, is our Lord, Savior, shepherd. And Jesus knows us, his sheep, are sometimes willful and stubborn.
As willful sheep we may rationalize our behavior. “I only need the church when I need it. It’s okay to cheat on a test, everyone does it. I don’t need to be truthful; everybody lies. My relationship with him, or her, is not bordering on the inappropriate. I deserve this, so I just do what I want.”
We can say we love Christ, but often live as if He is nonexistent. Except when we need him, or want to cry out to him.
Many times I hear people accuse God and Christ of not being there for them, visiting some affliction upon them.
And you know what church? I am tired. I am weary. Weary of the folks who blame God for their poor choices. I am weary of hearing people say, that the world has gone to hell. I am weary of hearing that somehow God does not reign in life as he once did. But do you believe we serve a God of Resurrection? We serve a God who loves us? We serve a God of new life and second chances?
I am weary of those who attack our schools, churches, mosques, & synagogues with guns. I am weary of those who think treating others in unjust ways is acceptable. I am weary and tired of the expectation that someone else will fix everything for us.
That is not what the Lord says to us here in this text. “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his names’ sake.” That means God points out ways for us to live that glorify him.
Work, and being engaged in life, are part of our lives. But hear me church. We take responsibility for living lives that glorify God daily.
Family is important. Relationships are important. Giving back financially to the church is important. Giving of time and talents to the church and community is important. Having a relationship with Christ is important. And caring for yourself, is important.
Anyone one here who can claim that they are tired or weary? Life itself, and all that goes with it in each of our complex lives, can be wearying.
But hear this church, even when times are tough, when we walk through the valley of brokenness, the unknown, illness, divorce, job loss, thinking about our educational future, the shadow of death, Christ walks with us.
He feeds us, blesses us at the table in the presence of naysayers and liars, those who choose to assassinate our character, those who would harm us. And he pours the oil of salvation, the balm of Gilead upon us, and it is abundant and merciful, fulfilling, overflowing, & uncontainable. A gift of love that is offered to ALL who would call out to Christ.
Goodness and mercy follow you and me because those are attributes of God. As children of the Living God and Jesus Christ, goodness and mercy follow because we are assured that we will live in God’s house forever.
We who proclaim Jesus Christ risen and alive in our lives are a people who God gives rest. The Lord is my shepherd, my guide, my Lord, and he cares for me, feeds me, protects me, walks with me in every life circumstance, blesses and anoints me, and assures me. When I claim Him, He claims me as his child, and I shall dwell in his house my whole life long. Not just at the end of life, but right now.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…he gives me rest.
And all of Christ’s children proclaimed, Amen.
