exhausted

He carried the weight of the world on his broad shoulders. Too few victories and staring down a long cold winter in Valley Forge, PA where his men suffered without adequate clothing and shelter, George Washington tromped through the snowy, frozen woods looking for seclusion. Kneeling in the snow he began to pour out his burdens to the One he knew could give rest.  There has been a lot of controversy over this scene, but General George Washington, Commander-in-chief of the U.S. Continental Army, wrote and spoke publicly many times of the necessity of petitioning God Almighty in and out of need. There's no doubt the stalwart father of our country knew God, worshipped Him, and called out to Him for guidance, provision, and for victory over those who would crush the burgeoning champion of freedom.

"These are the times that try men's souls," wrote Thomas Paine in his pamphlet Common Sense. It was an attempt to rouse American Patriots to action and to educate the world on beating down tyranny. We have entered into yet another such "time."  Mothers and fathers are being strong-armed into complying with enslaving measures merely to continue providing for their families. The things that James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams warned about our government have come to pass now, 245 years later.

Our own elected officials are acting horrendously against We The People, who have created the wealth in this country that has blessed the world with freedom, by God's hand. Now we daily carry the burdens our forefathers so terribly wrestled into usefulness. Perhaps our burdens are even greater in a sense. False reports, criminal illnesses, all out treasonous behavior from our government, foreign terrorism in our borders, a rekindling of racial dis-harmonies, sexual perversion taught in our public schools, and the hatred toward those who worship God; these are but a few of these current burdens. Parents are worried for their children. Children and youths are discouraged for their future. Business owners are persecuted by a government seeking to squelch the creation of wealth, a government eager to steal by overtaxing and creating false emergencies. There is a Biblical groaning in the land. We know the scripture tells us these times herald the end of the age, but this does very little to slacken the pressure. We The People are exhausted in every way from dragging these shackles around. We need this foolishness to stop! We need rest.

There is no rest in continuously playing the scenes of hopelessness over and over in our minds. There is no rest in listening to the messages of increasing despair and lies on the news channels. There is no rest in pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps, nor is their refreshing in ignoring the truth of it all. We cannot ignore what is taking place, obviously. The alarm is sounding. The enemy has breached the walls. Battles are raging. Suffering has come upon us increasingly. But if we do not rest ourselves in the truth of God's Word, if we do not turn away from our fruitless deeds, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (1st John 2.15-17), we will pass away along with this world. For so long we have been so busy running after these things that we have forgotten or denied God's hand in it all.

"Return to me and I will return to you," is essentially God's message for his people in Zechariah 1:3. Jesus said it like this: "Come to me all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."  (Matthew 11.28,29)  We need to evaluate our lives, realize our foolish striving in our own strength, and we need to confess our sins and return to God. We have assumed a burden that isn't ours. We need to take up the yoke the Creator meant for us, an easy and lighter one, so that we can be taught by Him of humility and gentleness. That is where rest can be found.

We The People are exhausted, broke down, and punched down because we've been trying to carry burdens that are not ours. There are times of refreshing in Him, there is rest in Him, only in Jesus. The forefathers of our country knew this and practiced it, and they watched the greatest nation on Earth be brought into existence by God's miraculous hand. God is no respecter of persons. He has done it before and he can do it again. We can rest in that. Perhaps, amid our need and battles lost, we need to take a tromp through the frozen woods...