Tired
Stories
THE WONDER OF WORDS: BOOK 2
ONE-HUNDRED MORE WORDS AND PHRASES SHAPING HOW CHRISTIANS THINK AND LIVE
In the entrance hall of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore is a remarkable statue of Jesus of Nazareth. He is portrayed as The Great Physician. His face is strong, yet tender. His arms are extended, in welcome, to all persons who enter that sanctuary of healing. At the base of the statue are these words of Jesus: "Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)
The word tired comes from the Old English word "tiorian," meaning to fail, to become weak, to cease. Faith's answer to tiredness is found in the Psalmist's affirmation about God: "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over." (Psalm 23:5) God has a threefold prescription for tiredness.
First, let up from activity. Give nature regular periods of rest, and the body will throw off the fatigue toxins. To cease from labor is the meaning of the Hebrew word passed into English as Sabbath.
Second, let go of your problem. Often, it is the mind that makes the body tired, because it has the problem of no goal or too many goals. Monkeys in Java love a certain local red bean. To capture these monkeys, the natives take coconuts, hollow them out, leaving only a two-inch diameter hole. They rope the coconut to a tree, put a red bean inside, and wait. When a monkey reaches inside the coconut and grabs the red bean, his fist won't fit back through the hole. No monkey ever lets go of the bean, in order to get away. Though we say we're gripped by some problem, often we are the ones who are doing the holding on. Let go!
Third, let in outside power. We don't nourish ourselves, but are dependent on the plant and animal world. From outside us comes air for our lungs and light for our eyes. Likewise, our spirits can be nourished by the larger spiritual world. Feed your mind with positive companionships!
The word tired comes from the Old English word "tiorian," meaning to fail, to become weak, to cease. Faith's answer to tiredness is found in the Psalmist's affirmation about God: "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over." (Psalm 23:5) God has a threefold prescription for tiredness.
First, let up from activity. Give nature regular periods of rest, and the body will throw off the fatigue toxins. To cease from labor is the meaning of the Hebrew word passed into English as Sabbath.
Second, let go of your problem. Often, it is the mind that makes the body tired, because it has the problem of no goal or too many goals. Monkeys in Java love a certain local red bean. To capture these monkeys, the natives take coconuts, hollow them out, leaving only a two-inch diameter hole. They rope the coconut to a tree, put a red bean inside, and wait. When a monkey reaches inside the coconut and grabs the red bean, his fist won't fit back through the hole. No monkey ever lets go of the bean, in order to get away. Though we say we're gripped by some problem, often we are the ones who are doing the holding on. Let go!
Third, let in outside power. We don't nourish ourselves, but are dependent on the plant and animal world. From outside us comes air for our lungs and light for our eyes. Likewise, our spirits can be nourished by the larger spiritual world. Feed your mind with positive companionships!
