July 7, 2021

O Soul, Are You Weary and Troubled?

One of the enemy’s strategies is to wear down the believer with distractions, discouragement and/or exhaustion. Constant and repeated attempts to cause the children of God to forsake their first love can lead to a ‘win’ for Satan if the believer, in a moment of trouble or a season of weariness, gives in or loses hope. We see this illustrated in the letters to the seven churches (Revelation 2 and 3), which is a history of the church over the last two thousand years. It also represents an individual congregation’s pattern of existence as well as the pattern of an individual person in his or her relationship to the Lord. The very first letter to the church at Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7) is a powerful reminder that even a focused, patient, and discerning church or individual can drift away from Jesus without an awareness of what is happening.

The hymn-writer, Helen H. Lemmel, picked up on this theme with the following lyrics:

O soul, are you weary and troubled? 

No light in the darkness you see?

There’s light for a look at the Savior

And life more abundant and free!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus!

Look full in His wonderful face

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim...

In the light of His glory and grace!

Scripture confirms that we are to look to Jesus:

“looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” Hebrews 12:2-3

Jesus has traveled the paths we now tread and has experienced and endured temptation on our behalf.  After His baptism and forty days of fasting in the wilderness (note that Luke 4:2 shows us that the devil was tempting Him during the entire forty days — not just at the end), Jesus faced a final barrage of temptations by Satan, in rapid-fire succession!  We see that Satan can quote (and twist!) Scripture.  Yet, Jesus stood firm and replied with the correct application of Holy Writ!  His written Word was His only weapon!

Look to Christ! He is our only real hope, and His Word answers every attempt by the enemy to cause us to fall.

 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.  1 Peter 3:15

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

Ephesians 6:17