There are different kinds of tired. There are different kinds of weary. There are different kinds of fatigue that may overwhelm the body and overcome the mind as the sun sets, as the skies grow dark, as day gives way to evening and evening gives way to night. There are different kinds of fatigue because there are different ways you may spend a day.
You may spend a day in idleness, in procrastinating your tasks, in ignoring your responsibilities. You may spend a day in indolent selfishness, in giving yourself over to laziness, slothfulness, shiftlessness. You may come to the end of a day having accomplished nothing meaningful because you have attempted nothing meaningful, having performed nothing significant because you set out to undertake nothing significant.
At the close of such a day your mind will be cloudy, your eyes drowsy, your body heavy. But your heart will be uneasy and your conscience will be troubled, for you will have squandered a day—you will have misused what God gave you in trust, failed to steward what God gave you as a gift.
You may also spend a day in activity, in accomplishing your tasks, in embracing your responsibilities. You may spend a day in purposeful motion, in diligently carrying out the duties God has assigned to you. You may come to the end of the day having accomplished much that is meaningful because you attempted much that was meaningful, and having performed much that was significant because you undertook much that was significant.
At the close of such a day your mind may be weary, your feet aching, your body drained. But your heart will be light and your conscience will be clear, for you will have embraced a day—you will have made the most of what God gave you in trust, faithfully stewarded what God gave you as a gift.
A day squandered and a day embraced—both will leave you weary. A day spent in frivolous idleness and a day spent in purposeful activity—both will leave body and mind worn and tired. But a day spent purposefully, a day spent in bringing glory to God by doing good to others—this is a day that will bring pleasure, even as it brings fatigue, this is a day that will bring joy, even as it brings weariness. This is a day you can close by sleeping the sleep of the just, a day you can close with God’s promise fixed in your heart: “when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet” (Proverbs 3:24).
