Mackenzie Norman

It’s hard to listen when you’re tired. Exhaustion has a way of laser-focusing our attention on what we need and want most. Usually, that one thing is sleep. Rest is important, but sometimes God calls us to do things at moments and times when we’d rather be resting. And our exhaustion can be our excuse for turning out the voice of God. We justify our lack of obedience by quoting a scripture about our bodies being a temple we should honor God with…even while dishonoring him. 

The bible records a fantastic picture of the deity and humanity of Jesus colliding at a critical moment. In John 4, Jesus knows He has an appointment in Samaria at noon. He has to go through Samaria, and yet, by the time noon came all of that walking started to weigh on Him. 

“Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well.” 

John 4:6 (emphasis mine)

It’s no accident that what follows is one hurting woman’s encounter with the Messiah in the flesh. The meeting was significant. It transformed the life of a broken woman who transformed an entire town that had been avoided by religious Jewish people for years. “He told me everything I ever did.” And many believed in Jesus because of her testimony.

But before this climactic moment, before she starts walking to the well, before she even appears on the scene- Jesus is sitting at the well. Tired from the journey.

It would have been easy to sit there in exhaustion and say nothing. But Jesus looks past His physical tiredness and realizes it has put Him in the right spot at the right time, prepared to ask a Samaritan woman for a drink of water. That one question swung the doors of a conversation wide open. 

I’m sure Jesus knew the direction He wanted to take the conversation in, but I’m also challenged by how He viewed His physical needs- resting by waiting, thirsty but willing to pour Himself out. He submitted every human impulse to the will and timing of God. His exhaustion was never an excuse, but an opportunity. 

Mornings are heard. Getting up extra early is hard. Jet lag is hard. And it;s even harder to try to live life alert and on mission when you’d like nothing more than to close your eyes and take a break from everything. But sometimes the most significant spiritual meetings happen when you’re the most tired. Probably because it requires us to lean so heavily on God to provide what we are incapable of providing for ourselves. Humility is powerful and God loves to humble His people in order to empower them. 

It’ll be a battle, but try to pay extra attention to God, concentrating on hearing His voice, especially when you’re tired. You never know who might be waiting, watching, or walking. Don’t choose a nap over a divine appointment.