This article is a summary of the following episode: Jesus Knows You're Tired
Life in a fallen world is often exhausting. Many of us carry the quiet hope that one day things will get easier. We imagine a time when the trials will be lighter, the struggles will fade, and our hearts will finally feel at rest. But the Scriptures never promise that kind of ease in this life. Instead, they prepare us for the reality of suffering, weakness, and ongoing battle with sin. They also give us a greater hope to carry us through it.
This is not just a pastoral truth. It is personal. We feel it in our own lives, in ministry, and in our relationships. If we feel it, you probably do too. So hear this: you are not alone. You are not losing your mind. Christ knows what you are facing, and he is faithful.
The Lie of Arrival
One of the quiet lies we can believe is that if we just grow enough in our faith, learn enough theology, and live with enough intentionality, we will eventually reach a place where life is smooth and the difficulties feel lighter. It is a subtle form of prosperity thinking, and it leaves us vulnerable to disappointment and doubt.
When the trials come, and they always do, we can start to question ourselves and even question God. We wonder if we belong to Christ at all, or if God is as faithful as he says. The Bible tells us to expect difficulty. Peter warns us not to be surprised by fiery trials as though something strange were happening. Paul says that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character. These truths reframe how we see hardship. Trials are not evidence that God has abandoned us. They are opportunities to learn that his grace is sufficient.
Suffering and Weakness
The apostles never hide the reality of suffering. Paul describes God as “the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction.” He does not promise to remove the affliction. He promises to meet us in it. That is the heart of our hope, not that God will make life easy, but that he will sustain us through every season.
Peter says that trials prove the genuineness of our faith and result in praise and glory for Christ. When life is hard, we find ourselves leaning more on Jesus. We rely on his strength, his love, his promises, and his sufficiency. This deepens our joy and confidence in him, even when our circumstances feel like they are draining the life out of us.
The Ongoing Fight Against Sin
There is another kind of weariness that every believer knows, the ongoing struggle with sin. Scripture says that we are both justified and still sinners. We are clothed in Christ’s righteousness, fully forgiven, and at peace with God. Yet we still carry the old nature, and our flesh still desires what is contrary to the Spirit.
This means that temptation is never far away. Sometimes the fight feels easier. Sometimes it feels harder than ever. And that is normal. The Christian life is not a steady climb toward effortless holiness. The flesh and the Spirit are opposed to each other, and this battle will not end until we see Christ face to face.
Paul’s counsel is clear: “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” The desires may still be there, but the Spirit empowers us to resist them. We depend on Christ daily for strength, knowing that without him, we would give in.
The Reality in the Church
This tiredness is not just personal. It is communal. Churches are full of redeemed sinners who still wrestle with sin and weakness. Even healthy congregations experience conflict, hurt, and disappointment. The New Testament churches did too. Faithful ministry does not eliminate problems. If anything, faithful gospel work often stirs up opposition, because it presses against the kingdom of darkness.
This should not lead us to despair but to prayer. Pray for your church. Pray for unity, for humility, for perseverance in the truth. Pray for your pastors, who feel the weight of these realities as they shepherd the flock.
Our Certain Hope
The Christian life is shaped by the cross. Jesus was crucified before he was raised, and we follow him in that pattern. We carry weakness, we bear suffering, and we keep fighting sin. We do all of it with our eyes fixed on him, knowing that our hope is not in this life but in the life to come.
One day, the fight will be over. The suffering will end. The old nature will be gone. Until then, we take our tiredness to Jesus. We remind one another that his grace is sufficient and that he will finish the good work he began in us. He knows our weakness. He is not ashamed of us. And he will bring us safely home.
