WEBVTT 00:00:08.129 --> 00:00:11.809 Hello and welcome to the Spray United Methodist Church podcast. 00:00:11.969 --> 00:00:15.009 I'm Hoyt, and I'm so glad you're here. 00:00:17.570 --> 00:00:22.929 There is a kind of tiredness that a good night's sleep cannot cure. 00:00:23.250 --> 00:00:26.769 Sometimes the body is tired and we know that we need rest. 00:00:27.489 --> 00:00:30.529 But sometimes the tiredness goes deeper. 00:00:30.849 --> 00:00:36.929 You still believe in God, you still love Jesus, yet prayer requires more effort. 00:00:37.250 --> 00:00:45.090 Worship feels distant, and words that once came from the heart begin to only come from the mouth. 00:00:46.770 --> 00:00:50.530 That is what I mean when I speak about a tired soul. 00:00:51.170 --> 00:00:56.370 It can happen even while we are doing all the things we believe a Christian ought to do. 00:00:56.690 --> 00:01:05.569 We attend worship, we read scripture, we pray before meals, we serve other people. 00:01:05.890 --> 00:01:14.129 From the outside, everything may look normal, yet inside we may feel as though we were walking through deep mud. 00:01:15.250 --> 00:01:21.329 Every spiritual step seems to require more strength than it used to. 00:01:22.129 --> 00:01:25.650 Sometimes we feel guilty about that weariness. 00:01:25.969 --> 00:01:32.769 We think a faithful Christian should always feel joyful, eager, and spiritually strong. 00:01:33.170 --> 00:01:38.450 But scripture never pretends that God's people are untouched by exhaustion. 00:01:39.010 --> 00:01:46.850 The Psalms contained prayers from people who felt discouraged, overwhelmed, and distant from God. 00:01:48.450 --> 00:01:51.490 They did not hide their condition from Him. 00:01:51.730 --> 00:01:54.210 They brought it into His presence. 00:01:55.010 --> 00:01:59.010 The Christian life requires effort and obedience matters. 00:01:59.329 --> 00:02:05.170 But when the soul grows tired, we can confuse faithfulness with performance. 00:02:05.650 --> 00:02:15.890 We begin acting as though communion with God depends upon saying the right words, feeling the right emotions, and doing everything well enough. 00:02:17.250 --> 00:02:21.170 Yes, we want to live in a manner that pleases God. 00:02:21.490 --> 00:02:25.969 We want our choices, words, and conduct to honor Him. 00:02:26.289 --> 00:02:29.170 But we must remember why we obey. 00:02:29.569 --> 00:02:33.810 We do not obey so that God will finally decide to love us. 00:02:34.370 --> 00:02:40.530 We obey because in Jesus Christ God has already shown his love for us. 00:02:41.409 --> 00:02:44.770 Our relationship with God rests upon grace. 00:02:45.330 --> 00:02:51.729 We come through Jesus Christ even when our hearts feel tired and our prayers feel weak. 00:02:53.650 --> 00:02:58.530 I have experienced this with something as familiar as the Apostles' Creed. 00:02:59.250 --> 00:03:04.449 For years I could recite the creed from memory and say every word correctly. 00:03:05.009 --> 00:03:12.610 But familiarity can allow the mouth to continue while the heart stops paying attention. 00:03:12.930 --> 00:03:15.729 That can happen with many parts of our faith. 00:03:15.969 --> 00:03:21.729 We can say the Lord's Prayer without thinking about what it means for God's kingdom to come. 00:03:22.610 --> 00:03:26.129 We can sing a hymn while our mind is somewhere else. 00:03:26.610 --> 00:03:37.009 We can hear a familiar Bible verse and assume that, because we recognize the words, we have received everything God may want to show us through them. 00:03:39.409 --> 00:03:45.490 This does not mean that those prayers, hymns, or passages have become empty. 00:03:45.890 --> 00:03:52.289 It means that we have become tired, distracted, or overly familiar with them. 00:03:53.409 --> 00:03:58.610 The treasure is still there, but we may have stopped looking closely. 00:04:01.810 --> 00:04:07.250 Now that changed when I began researching the creed for this podcast. 00:04:08.610 --> 00:04:13.330 We slowed down and examined each phrase through Scripture. 00:04:13.810 --> 00:04:19.729 I believe in God the Father Almighty was no longer simply an opening line. 00:04:20.849 --> 00:04:28.050 Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, became a confession about the one who saves us. 00:04:28.290 --> 00:04:37.329 The forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting became promises filled with hope. 00:04:37.730 --> 00:04:46.530 As I studied, I began to understand that the creed is not merely a list of doctrines Christians are expected to memorize. 00:04:46.930 --> 00:04:58.290 It tells the story of the God who created us, the Son who came to serve us, and the Holy Spirit who remains at work among us. 00:04:59.089 --> 00:05:08.610 It carries us from creation through the cross and resurrection and towards the promise of everlasting life. 00:05:09.889 --> 00:05:12.129 The creed had not changed. 00:05:12.449 --> 00:05:15.970 The truth, the truth had not lost its power. 00:05:16.370 --> 00:05:18.930 I had simply begun listening again. 00:05:20.129 --> 00:05:22.850 That experience taught me something important. 00:05:23.490 --> 00:05:27.009 A tired soul does not always need something new. 00:05:27.329 --> 00:05:32.050 Sometimes it needs to see an old truth with fresh attention. 00:05:36.050 --> 00:05:44.530 We often assume that spiritual tiredness requires a new book, a new method, or some dramatic experience. 00:05:44.850 --> 00:05:49.329 But sometimes God leads us back to truths we have known for years. 00:05:51.569 --> 00:05:55.329 Think about the words, the Lord is my shepherd. 00:05:59.810 --> 00:06:05.170 Many of us have heard Psalms 23 since childhood. 00:06:05.810 --> 00:06:10.290 Because it is so familiar, we may move over it quickly. 00:06:11.089 --> 00:06:16.530 But when your soul is tired, stop after those five words. 00:06:18.449 --> 00:06:23.649 If the Lord is your shepherd, then you are not wandering through life unseen. 00:06:24.689 --> 00:06:26.290 You belong to Him. 00:06:31.089 --> 00:06:34.050 And He has not abandoned His care for you. 00:06:37.250 --> 00:06:41.730 Or consider the simple confession, Jesus Christ is Lord. 00:06:42.129 --> 00:06:47.250 That means our weariness is not Lord, our fear is not Lord. 00:06:48.050 --> 00:06:51.569 Our circumstances do not have the final word. 00:06:52.290 --> 00:06:53.810 Jesus does. 00:06:54.129 --> 00:07:01.009 The one who died for us and rose again remains Lord even on the days when we feel very little. 00:07:02.769 --> 00:07:04.610 God is our Father. 00:07:05.089 --> 00:07:07.089 Jesus Christ is Lord. 00:07:07.730 --> 00:07:10.129 Our sins can be forgiven. 00:07:10.449 --> 00:07:12.930 Christ is risen. 00:07:13.490 --> 00:07:15.089 We are not alone. 00:07:15.889 --> 00:07:19.170 These truths are familiar but never ordinary. 00:07:19.569 --> 00:07:26.769 A weary heart may need to slow down and hear one familiar promise as though it matters today. 00:07:27.410 --> 00:07:38.769 Jesus says in Matthew 11 28, Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 00:07:40.050 --> 00:07:44.689 He does not say, make yourself feel spiritual again and then come to me. 00:07:45.009 --> 00:07:48.129 He does not say find better words and then come. 00:07:48.850 --> 00:07:52.370 He says simply, Come to me. 00:07:53.810 --> 00:07:56.449 We come with distracted thoughts. 00:07:56.689 --> 00:07:59.730 We come with prayers that sound mechanical. 00:08:00.050 --> 00:08:03.970 We come with a heart that may not feel what the mouth is saying. 00:08:04.449 --> 00:08:07.009 We come because Christ is our rest. 00:08:07.889 --> 00:08:13.970 Rest in Christ does not always mean that every burden immediately disappears. 00:08:14.530 --> 00:08:21.569 Sometimes His rest is the assurance that we do not carry the burden by ourselves. 00:08:22.449 --> 00:08:26.129 Sometimes it is enough strength for the next strep. 00:08:26.689 --> 00:08:37.009 Sometimes it is a quiet reminder that our salvation rests in what Christ has done, not in how energetic or inspired we feel today. 00:08:38.289 --> 00:08:41.409 If your soul is tired, begin honestly. 00:08:42.289 --> 00:08:46.849 Lord, I am saying the words, but my heart feels far away. 00:08:47.089 --> 00:08:49.169 Help me hear them again. 00:08:49.889 --> 00:08:51.969 That is not a failed prayer. 00:08:52.209 --> 00:08:54.049 It is an honest prayer. 00:08:57.089 --> 00:09:03.489 God is not impressed by religious words that conceal what is truly happening within us. 00:09:04.449 --> 00:09:06.609 He already knows our hearts. 00:09:06.929 --> 00:09:14.289 Honest prayer opens the door for us to stop pretending and to receive His mercy where we actually are. 00:09:17.489 --> 00:09:19.969 Then stay with one familiar truth. 00:09:20.289 --> 00:09:22.609 Read one verse slowly. 00:09:23.089 --> 00:09:26.769 Pray one line of the Lord's Prayer. 00:09:27.089 --> 00:09:33.169 Take one statement from the creed and ask what it reveals about Christ. 00:09:33.969 --> 00:09:37.329 Give your heart time to catch up with your mouth. 00:09:37.809 --> 00:09:42.769 You might choose the words our Father, say them slowly. 00:09:43.089 --> 00:09:50.289 Remember that you are speaking to the God who knows you and welcomes you as his child. 00:09:51.169 --> 00:09:54.769 Or choose the words the forgiveness of sins. 00:09:55.329 --> 00:10:00.849 Remember that the failure you confessed is not stronger than the mercy of Christ. 00:10:01.169 --> 00:10:05.409 Or simply say, He is risen. 00:10:06.849 --> 00:10:15.250 Let that old truth remind you that no darkness, not even death itself, has defeated Jesus. 00:10:16.369 --> 00:10:18.769 Do not try to force a feeling. 00:10:19.089 --> 00:10:23.250 Our faith is not made true by the strength of our emotions. 00:10:23.489 --> 00:10:30.529 Instead, place your detention upon what is true and allow that truth to rest before God. 00:10:31.409 --> 00:10:35.009 Feelings may return quickly, or they may not. 00:10:35.729 --> 00:10:40.529 Either way, Christ remains faithful. 00:10:41.089 --> 00:10:49.250 Romans 8 reminds us that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness and intercedes for us when we do not know what to pray. 00:10:49.489 --> 00:10:53.169 Even when our words are weak, we are not praying alone. 00:10:54.129 --> 00:10:56.049 That is the great comfort. 00:10:56.289 --> 00:11:03.009 The effectiveness of prayer does not depend upon our ability to produce beautiful sentences. 00:11:03.329 --> 00:11:06.689 A sigh offered to God can be a prayer. 00:11:06.929 --> 00:11:10.929 A whispered help me can be a prayer. 00:11:11.250 --> 00:11:17.809 Sitting quietly before the Lord when no words will come can also be an act of faith. 00:11:18.529 --> 00:11:22.529 There are days when faithfulness feels strong and joyful. 00:11:23.009 --> 00:11:29.809 There are other days when faithfulness means quietly returning to Jesus with very little strength. 00:11:30.289 --> 00:11:33.250 God is present in both kind of days. 00:11:33.969 --> 00:11:40.209 A tired soul is not a faithless soul, and it is not a forgotten soul. 00:11:40.609 --> 00:11:46.369 Sometimes it simply needs to rest in grace and hear an old truth again. 00:11:47.729 --> 00:11:49.250 Let us pray. 00:11:50.049 --> 00:11:57.009 Heavenly Father, you know when our bodies are tired and when the weariness has reached our souls. 00:11:57.329 --> 00:12:04.529 You also know that when our mouth continues praying while our hearts struggle to pay attention. 00:12:05.169 --> 00:12:10.529 Forgive us when we treat communion with you as something we must earn. 00:12:11.729 --> 00:12:19.009 Remind us that we come through the grace of Jesus Christ, not through perfect words or perfect performance. 00:12:19.809 --> 00:12:26.449 Take the truths we have heard many times and help us receive them with fresh attention. 00:12:27.409 --> 00:12:40.769 Remind us that you are our Father, that Jesus is Lord, that our sins can be forgiven, that Christ is risen, and that we are never alone. 00:12:42.209 --> 00:12:48.369 Lord Jesus, thank you for inviting the weary and burdened to come to you. 00:12:49.409 --> 00:12:57.250 Give rest to every tired soul listening today and help us take the next faithful step. 00:12:57.649 --> 00:12:59.809 We pray in your holy name. 00:13:00.129 --> 00:13:00.769 Amen. 00:13:02.689 --> 00:13:07.569 Thank you for spending these few minutes with me on the Spray UMC Podcast. 00:13:07.889 --> 00:13:13.009 If you don't have a church home, we'd love to invite you to worship with us in person. 00:13:13.649 --> 00:13:15.809 Our Sunday service is at 10 a.m. 00:13:15.969 --> 00:13:20.529 at Spray United Methodist Church in Eden, North Carolina. 00:13:20.929 --> 00:13:26.209 We are a loving church that loves God and loves people. 00:13:27.009 --> 00:13:27.969 All people. 00:13:29.409 --> 00:13:33.809 Remember, new podcast episodes come out every Friday. 00:13:36.929 --> 00:13:42.929 Until next time, may the grace of God rise before you and keep you safe. 00:13:43.329 --> 00:13:44.529 Goodbye.