Are the trials of 2020 making you feel exceptionally weary? Here are some things you can do to lift that weariness …

The deeper we trudge into 2020, I’m hearing more and more people saying they are exceptionally weary and weighed down from all of the trials and troubles that have marked this year.

It’s not uncommon for people who battle weariness to react with bad choices that only result in them wallowing in their weariness. When you’re experiencing genuine weariness, there are some practical things you can do to help lift you from that weariness, but it will take a certain level of self-discipline to make wiser and better choices. Following are some things you can do to help lift the weight of weariness you may be experiencing:

Prioritize personal spiritual renewal. The Bible teaches us that our very life is held in God’s hands (Job 12:10, Psalm 66:9), we cannot even exist or do anything without Him. Acts 17:27a states it this way, “For in him we live and move and exist …” That same God who created us, gives us life, and sustains our lives tells us over and over again in scripture that He is our primary source for strength and renewal:

The prophet Isaiah tried to comfort Israel with these words, a message that we can also find comfort in, “Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint,” Isaiah 40:28-31.

God’s message to Israel was, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand,” Isaiah 41:10. He will do the same for you!

The Apostle Paul said of his life experience, “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” We can be like Paul!

Paul shared what can be a profound encouragement to us in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

Jesus encourages us that He will be the source of rest we need, “Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light,'” Matthew 11:28-30.

Scripture is full of such messages teaching us that God is our refuge in life, our one reliable source for rest, refreshing, and renewal. Making time to commune with Him in His word and developing a rich life of prayer and worship will help us discover the strength and refreshing we need and God offers.

Get ahold of your self-talk and thought life. So many people are increasingly becoming mentally and emotionally exhausted with the events of 2020. It’s at times like these in life where we can allow our thoughts to spiral out-of-control, only deepening our struggle to respond well and have strength to face life’s challenges. Considering the fact that our thoughts create our emotions, and our thoughts and emotions together determine our actions, it is especially important for us to become more conscious of our self-talk and our thought life. By heightening our self-awareness, we can direct our self-talk rather than allowing for negative rumination where we play over and over in our minds thoughts of worry, fear, and trepidation. If we don’t exercise self-discipline for greater self-awareness, we can fall victim to increasingly irrational thinking and even develop habits of cognitive distortions.

To help us with keeping watch on and improving our thought life, it’s helpful to minimize the “noise” in our lives (e.g., reduce your intake of news), organize ourselves (e.g., simplify, reduce clutter), and develop healthy new routines while discarding unhealthy old ones (and change up your routines as one means of keeping things fresh).

Do what it takes to literally increase your physical energy. Boosting your physical energy also helps to boost your mental and emotional stamina. How do you serve up an infusion of physical energy? Key ways are to be more active/move more, create and commit to a consistent personal exercise regimen, ditch the junk food for a lifestyle of eating nutritiously, and permanently adopt a healthy sleep pattern (consistently getting the quantity of quality sleep your mind and body needs). For more tips for boosting your physical energy, read my previous blog post on that subject here.

Make time for quality time with people you enjoy. Spending a little more time with people who bring joy to our lives can help lift us when we’re feeling like the weight of the world is on us. Their love and companionship are reminders of the better things in life which we can use a bigger dose of!

Enjoy life a little. When people are feeling exceptionally weary, they often make one of two mistakes – they either lose themselves in moping and don’t enjoy life at all, or they go too far in the opposite direction and drown themselves in indulges that only make matters worse. Believe it or not, God really does want us to enjoy the life He gave us! So we should make sure we’re making room for things like recreation where we allow ourselves to enjoy life a little. It’s okay to enjoy life while also soberly and responsibly addressing the trials and troubles that come our way.

This year has brought big, real, and serious problems to many, and we can become weary battling those challenges. But even in the midst of troubles, we can learn, as the Apostle Paul did, to thrive and find times of refreshing when needed. The key is, will you exercise the self-discipline that will take? I hope you do, it will be worth it!

Scotty