Howdy. Howdy.
I was glad to see everybody today. You know, I was reading in
Hebrews and it says that you should not grow
weary. You know what? That sounds like a good idea.
I think we should do that. Sound good? Yep, yep, yep. Alright,
sounds pretty easy. Alright, let's go ahead and do that. You know how there's always that one
person that manages to say something that's just
a little bit obvious but maybe not quite so easy.
It's sort of like, oh hey, yeah man, I'm really hungry. Oh, you probably
should have eaten something. Yeah, I guess so. Man,
I'm really tired. Oh, you should definitely go to bed on time. I salute you
Captain Obvious. Thank you. I really appreciate that. And so here we are
hearing this part in the book of Hebrews saying, do not be
weary. And it's like, keep going. Really?
That's what you're going to do. How do you just
will yourself to not be weary? You know what? I have two choices.
I could either be weary or not be weary. Oh boy, that's a really
tough decision. You know, I think I'm going to go with not being weary. How do you just
do that? And that's something that really just strikes
me about this is that it's telling you something that you're wondering
how am I supposed to push through when you're just telling me
stop being so tired. But whenever I think about
being weary, my mind always goes to metaphors of backpacking
because I feel like that's whenever I've been the most physically exhausted
in my life. Whenever you have a pack with 50 to 60 pounds on your back
and you're trying to keep going about 10 miles in a day
and you're wondering, are we there yet? Are we there yet?
Are we there yet? See, in the
book of Hebrews, we end up seeing that Jesus is above
all. Above the laws, he is greater than all the laws of
Moses. He is greater than all the spiritual messengers of the past.
He's also greater than the role models and all of the leaders that they
had before. But so what?
Why is that so important to point out that Jesus is
greater than all these and to then be able to say, now
I'm so weary. But what is it ultimately about?
And the reason why backpacking stands in my mind
as I think about this is because with backpacking is that it's not just
about trying to get to where you're going. It's about struggling
through the journey that it takes to get there.
Because that's what we end up seeing in our passage from
Hebrews today. How do we figure out
where to go and what comes next?
It is not easy because staying strong in what
God has called us to do is not easy.
The thing is is that we end up having a list of all these people
in chapter 11 that describes how they had to walk by faith
and it was not easy for any of them.
One of them that I was pointing to was Abel.
Abel was over there having to do the right thing because it was right
even though the consequences took his own life.
Abel and Cain were over there
expected to be worshiping God and this was after the fall
so to worship God required the death of an animal.
But instead of taking it seriously Cain
decided that he would rather just offer up some vegetables
instead. There was Abel
taking the life of one of his animals and putting that there
and letting that be a sacrifice to God and what does his brother Cain do?
Here's some corn maybe some wheat
why don't you burn that instead? It almost feels as if
he doesn't even care. It almost feels as if he doesn't even
think that there's any point to it whatsoever.
And we oftentimes find that same
feeling ourselves. It's how often is it that we
put in the least amount of effort into our spiritual
lives. Make sure we just get the minimum in.
And then anything beyond that is just too much of a nuisance.
You know what maybe I'll participate
in the life of the church. Maybe I'll participate in my spiritual
life but you need to market it really well. You have to make
sure that it really speaks to my innermost desires.
And I really need you to coordinate around my schedule.
I need you to make sure that it fit because I've got some stuff going on
and I really got to catch up on Cobra Kai this week. And you know what
I really need to make sure that you can customize it. That it's something I'm really looking
for. I really need you to work this out for me but don't make me work too hard.
How often is it that we
end up putting the least amount of effort into our spiritual lives
and then oftentimes we find others frustrated
and wondering what the point of it was.
The thing is is that whenever we were out there on these trails
and we're backpacking along and we're trying to go just a little bit extra
and just push a little bit harder. And the thing is is that you could always tell
the ones who hadn't quite realized
the need to keep pushing harder and to strive more
from the ones who were still, you know what, I'm not quite ready
and the ones who were ready to push and to go beyond.
And you see that level of being able to say that it's more than just putting in the minimum
effort but to be able to care about what you're doing.
And unfortunately not everybody is willing
to do what is right just because it's right.
But even more than that is that sometimes when we do
we have to end up going on that journey alone.
Because not everybody is willing to walk along
that path with us. Is that as much as we want to make sure
that we are pursuing God with everything that we say and we do,
not everybody else sees that. And sometimes we have
to do it alone. Like Abraham.
See Abraham, he knew that God was saying that he needed to go to this
land, a place that he had never been to. This was before times
where you could check up on TripAdvisor to see, oh, you know,
10 tips on visiting the promised land or, oh hey, let me go to Google Maps
and make sure I know which is the easiest path to get there. Ooh, that looks like
a lot of traffic, way too much sheep. You know, we didn't have
all these things back then. Rather is that it's a place that he didn't
even know what was waiting for him. Or even whether it was really
what he expected. But Abraham knew that God wanted
him to leave the land where he was at. A place that was full of all of those
that were worshiping all these other gods and to go someplace where he could be true to who God was
and what he desired of them. But you see,
his family, his dad, all the other siblings,
they didn't go with him. He had to take his own family and make the way
himself. And that's the thing about this is that oftentimes when
we are pursuing God is that it takes a long time.
And we keep wondering, did I hear him right?
Am I sure that this is really what it is that he wants of me?
Because we see other people not going along with us.
We wonder why it is that we have to go that path alone. Why it is
that it feels like others don't understand.
And that's the thing that we oftentimes have to do though.
Is that as weary and tiresome as it is, is that we still have to keep going
even if nobody else understands. I remember at one point
I had a bunch of people backpacking with me and they kept seeing all around
us all these flat level places. Really nice.
There was some grass, the trees, the shade, everything was great. Could we go ahead
and just stay here for the night? Wouldn't this be great?
But I knew the place we were supposed to go was another two miles away.
And I knew that if we stopped here instead of there, we wouldn't be anywhere
close to water. And we wouldn't be able to make it to the
next stop the next day. And as much as everyone
was upset, is to still keep saying, this is the way we have to go.
And it is long and it is tiring
but we still have to go.
And that's the thing that we end up hearing about this is that as much
as we don't know what may be waiting for us
is that when God says to follow him
we go. But the thing about this
spiritual life though, is that sometimes we also don't get a choice.
Sometimes when we're supposed to follow after God, it's not
because we said, oh, well will I follow after God or won't I follow after God?
Sometimes the situation he puts us in is something we can't even
choose. Which is why it's so amazing that in
Hebrews they pointed out Sarah.
Because Sarah being the wife of Abraham, at that
time to be a mother was seen as how you were
giving to your family. And that was when you felt blessed by God.
The thing is that Sarah didn't have a say in that part of it.
Sarah wasn't deciding that this was the situation
she wanted to be in. But rather is to realize that that path
was one that she had to follow because that's just what God had for her.
But let's be honest, as much as Hebrews kind of glosses over
Sarah's story, Sarah did not always stay
on that path the way she was meant to. Is that she was
so discouraged and felt that whatever they were doing
was missing God's path. That she ends up going
and taking one of her servants and telling her husband to have children
by her. Did that sound like what God had
promised? Did that sound like what it was that God wanted
for their future? But she was discouraged.
And how often do we find ourselves in the same place
and in the same vein? Is that we know this is the path we're
trying to go. But we're so frustrated and discouraged that we're willing
to do anything that would just take away that
weariness and would just change something. Just feel like
something is moving forward. Even though we know that that was
not what God was calling us to do. The times whenever we
stop paying attention to whether something at work was ethical or moral
or the times whenever we just want to say something to get a point across
without asking whether that's genuinely what God wants us to speak at that
moment. Or the times whenever we think we can force something or
push it to get what it is that we want.
Or whenever we jump the gun before God and other people
are ready. Because there are the times whenever
we can't choose it. But we still have to go forward.
I still remember at one point realizing
we had to hike a camper out from the wilderness.
And the problem is that they weren't able to keep going. We had to add
an extra two miles each way just to get the person
out. And then try to get back to where we were going.
And if we did not keep going
another 10 after that.
We did not know when we would find the rest of the group. And the problem
was that they had the food. They had the provisions. They had
the stoves. They had the extra that we
needed. They even had the tent for two of them.
And when you know you have to keep going
because if you stop
then you don't know what it is that may be waiting for you.
And you get to the end of it and all you can do is just cry. Because you don't
know how it was that you pushed to that point.
And that's the thing about it though. Is that oftentimes the weariness
the struggle the pushing and the not knowing where it's meant to go
is actually part of what God is using to
discipline us. And it is part of what that journey is
to change us. Because the discipline happens through the
trials. You know how many times is it
that we understand that a parent is going to discipline
us. Is going to have hardships happen in our lives.
And yet somehow we don't think that God would do that.
Somehow we think that all of these things that we're
struggling through are just an accident waiting to happen.
Or that somehow God doesn't realize where we are.
People like Moses who ended up leaving his whole life behind
coming back to Egypt to rescue the people.
And then bringing them to the promised land and somehow thinks that God doesn't get it
when he says to speak to a rock. And then God
has to keep him from the promised land. Because otherwise
the children of Israel wouldn't understand the point to be made.
Or whenever the judges time and time again
kept having to go back and save the children of Israel over
and over. Because they keep going their own path and God keeps
having to allow them to suffer under the surrounding
nations. Or even the times when the kings themselves
when they had their own purposes their own plans
and they weren't willing to slow down and let God be in control.
When you have a king who is seeing an impending army and instead of
trusting that God has it in control and wait for his time in his plan
rushes the sacrifice and then loses God's
blessing. Because so much of what we
end up going through is God intending to change us.
He wants us to grow.
He wants us to change.
Because that's the thing about it is that we're not
going to be in charge. So then why are we surprised
that God could possibly be doing something through all of these
struggles? And that's the thing about it though.
Is that even when we're not sure what's going on is that we're still meant to obey
even when it's difficult. Even when we don't get it
even when we're not sure where it's going even when we're confused as to how
it's supposed to play out. Yet God still says
I need you to go.
Because the times whenever we're following him are not always
going to make sense to us. And if they were
easy then when would we grow?
But more than that
how often do we let them make us bitter?
That the weariness frustrates us, turns our hearts
heartens us and makes us feel that there's nothing else
to go for. And yet where is the joy
meant to be found? Is that the joy is meant to be
found that God is doing something in our lives.
That God is working to transform us not
once we can finally get through this journey but because of the journey.
I know the times whenever it's I've been
standing next to Mount Talach where I know that Lake Tahoe is just on the other
side but you have to take another hour
to go up to the top just to see it.
But the problem is that if you're not willing to work hard to get
to the point then was it really worth the journey in the first place?
Wherever we've
gone isn't it amazing when
we look back and we discover what it was that God
was doing all along. And yet we have such a hard
time believing that for the future. But that's also
why we're meant to stand with each other during
the weariness. We're meant to be there with each other
during the hard times. We're meant to be the ones
that continue to encourage each other out of the bitterness
through the struggle. Because
with that is that as we are traveling through we're meant
to remind each other of what God is doing and that
this too plays a part.
Whenever we finally would finish the hike and we would get
to the end and we would sit down and we would make dinner.
What was amazing was that it was the simplest of meals
and yet after everything we pushed through
it tasted so much better. And more than that
when we were done with that hike
with that trip how many of us knew
how many other things we could tackle in life because of it.
God
is asking you to not grow weary
but he's not saying to do it alone.
But to know that he is the one doing his work
through you. To know that he is with you and
on top of it that we are meant to be on this journey together.
So wherever you may be on this
whatever may be weight making you weary and bitter and frustrated
God ultimately uses things for his good
and more than that he still knows exactly where
you are and is still working in your life.
So don't be weary
because I promise you wherever you are on this journey
you are not alone. Thanks be to God.