When You Feel So Tired You Want To Cry

Have you ever felt so tired that you wanted to cry? I did. A lot of times. In fact, one sign that I have exhausted myself so much is when I suddenly find myself crying. It’s as though my whole body is telling me something’s wrong, I’m headed towards breakdown, and no matter how busy I may be, I must somehow find time for rest.

What does it mean to be tired?

There are many kinds of tiredness. While we can all get tired of physical exhaustion, we know that there are worse kinds that we experience in life.

We can be mentally tired. Tired of thinking and striving to use our intellect to solve the problems at hand.

We can also be emotionally exhausted. Remember when your heart was broken? Or remember when you have lost a loved one? Nothing drains you like grief. There comes a time when you feel as though you could even run out of tears.

Last but not the least is spiritual tiredness. This is where our spiritual battles come in. Our battles with temptation. Our striving to overcome the darkness in our souls.

And then there are times when we’re tired on so many levels we can’t even understand ourselves. All our past efforts suddenly come to mind. All our past defeats become burdens that keep us from hoping things could get any better.

From the depths of our hearts then, we may start to cry, “Lord, please help me. I just feel so tired!”

The invitation to come to Jesus

There comes a point when a gentle voice whispers to us, inviting us to surrender everything to God. Yes, to come to Jesus. Why Jesus? Because the only rest our souls could ever find is in Him.

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until
they rest in You.” – St. Augustine

In our weariness, we may remember where we have tried to rest. We thought we could solve our problems on our own. We relied upon people who only failed us in the end. We sought various means to help us, but we have only drained our physical and spiritual strength.

Why not try Jesus?

The easy yoke of Christ

Jesus never said we’d have no burdens when we follow Him. But He wanted us to take his yoke, a yoke He knew would be easy for us.

“But can’t we just let go of all burdens?” you may ask. And here is where our problem often starts. We try to be free from every problem. We want to take shortcuts. And in doing so, we just find the longer route. We don’t succeed in dropping every burden, we only carry the heavier ones.

How can a burden be light?

The burden of Jesus is light because it is not made heavy by darkness and sin. It does not come with all of those things that make our lives more miserable like anger, worry, jealousy, envy and other ill feelings that burden our souls.

His burden is light because we are not alone in carrying it. We always have Jesus, the One who carried our sins and paid for all of them at the cross.

In carrying our burdens, He also gives us strength. We can carry it because He makes us capable of carrying them.

What does it mean that we must learn from Jesus?

Jesus said that He is humble and gentle. I think that’s among the first things we can learn from Him.

When we are humble, we do not take on more than the load we need to carry. We don’t carry the weight of pride. We don’t strive for more money or power than we should. We don’t burden ourselves in trying to compete with our neighbors.

On the other hand, to be gentle is a quality we can apply to others and to ourselves. Have you been gentle with yourself? Or have you blamed yourself for many things in life? Have you spoken harsh words to yourself?

It’s the same way in our relationship with others. We need to be gentle to each other, kinder and more understanding. We need to have compassion for each other’s pain. This can make our burdens a lot lighter for all of us.

Our burdens can be wings

The burdens God give us can be weights meant to train us and give us strength. Instead of refusing them, we should welcome them with open arms. One day, these burdens may be the very wings we could use. And instead of being weighed down, we may discover that we are being set free.

Surrender your burdens

Whatever you may be going through right now, surrender it all to Jesus. He knows you and He understands your pain. He knows just how much you have suffered and He wants to give you rest. Will you let Him? Will you trust the One who loves you most?

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30, NRSVCE

I have wondered about this verse for a long time. What kind of rest shall we find in Jesus? And how could we come to Him to lay down our burdens? Now I’ve realized what Jesus meant to say. When He called us to come and rest in Him, we should focus on these three words, “rest in Him.” Rest in Jesus. Not on your own wealth, or glory or pride. Not on your strengths. Not on your plans for the future. Not even on your own goodness. True rest comes when we rest in God alone.

“I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings wise and beautiful, but never in either: ‘Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden.’”— St. Augustine

Below is a song I wrote in seeking God’s presence and resting in His arms.

Quotes on Resting in God

“Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. . . . Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe.” – Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place

“All shall be well, all shall be well… For there is a Force of love moving through the universe that holds us fast and will never let us go.” – St. Julian of Norwich

“Be little like a child of love in the arms of your Father. Where you cannot walk, he will carry you.” – St. Francis De Sales

“But pray, my children. God will hear you in a short time. My Son allows Himself to be moved by compassion.”– Our Lady of Hope

“When I see that the burden is beyond my strength, I do not consider or analyze it or probe into it, but I run like a child to the Heart of Jesus and say only one word to Him: ‘You can do all things.’ And then I keep silent, because I know that Jesus himself will intervene in the matter, and as for me, instead of tormenting myself, I use that time to love Him.” – St. Faustina, Divine Mercy In My Soul (1033)

“To saints, their very slumber is a prayer.” – St. John of the Cross

Bible Verses on Finding Rest in God

“Be still, and know that I am God! – Psalm 46:10, NRSVCE

“It is vain for you to rise up early,
to stay up late,
eating the bread of toil,
for he gives sleep to his loved ones.”
-Psalm 127, WEBBE

“My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak.”
– 2 Corinthians 12:9, GNT

“If you return and be quiet, you shall be saved: in silence and in hope shall your strength be.” – Isaiah 30:15 (DRB)

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.’”
-Psalm 91, WEBBE

“Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.”
– Isaiah 40:30-31, NRSVCE

Thank you for reading! You may also want to download my free e-book:
“Carried by Christ’s Compassion”.