Today is the most Mondayest Monday of the year. Mondays are notoriously difficult days of the week. There are the noteworthy exceptions to the rule during holiday weeks on which Mondays serve as functional extensions of the weekend. But, on most occasions, Mondays serve as the reentry point to the grind of the working week. To borrow a biblical parlance, it is a day of great “mourning and gnashing of teeth.” Perhaps that is a bit of an overstatement, but most of us would agree that Mondays can be a bit of a struggle.
In the meantime, we get to deal with the functional effects of jet-lag without the joy of going anywhere.
The sounds of our alarms calling us to action are an unwelcome interruption to our beauty sleep on even the best of days. On this particular Monday, however, the sound of the alarm is even more offensive as we once again get to deal with the full-impact of Daylight Saving Time, or as I like to call it, Daylight Stealing Time. As you may gather, I’m not a fan. All that has happened is we have shuffled when we perceive the daylight as happening and have stolen an hour of light from the morning hours and added it to the evening hours. Three weeks from now, it will no longer be an issue. In the meantime, we get to deal with the functional effects of jet-lag without the joy of going anywhere. So, this is the Mondayest of Mondays, followed by the difficulty of a week or two in which our bodies struggle to get back into rhythm.
This short season of sleep deprivation need not be a total loss, though. Perhaps it can serve as a gentle reminder of our need for Jesus and the strength He offers to those who call out to Him in faith. Two passages came to mind this morning as I was privately lamenting the darkness of the morning hours and the fatigue in my mind and body.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, we read these seemingly contradictory words from the Apostle Paul: “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Rather than bemoaning the various struggles in his life, Paul saw them as opportunities for Christ to show His strength. On the surface, it seems foolish, but it makes sense when you think about it. If life is always all good and we’ve got it covered in our own strength, what need do we have for Jesus? It is the difficulties in life that remind us of our fragility and deep need and compel us to lean on Jesus. His strength is available and He promises to sustain us through any and all situations.
The weakness that comes through struggles and hardships provides opportunities for Christ to reveal His strength, and it is in seasons of exhaustion that Christ promises to come and give us rest.
In Matthew 11:2-29, we read this invitation from Jesus: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.” Jesus Himself has promised to provide the rest we so desperately need, but also to provide strength to sustain us through the struggles that continually confront us. He knows the troubles we face living this life and He calls us to come to Him to find support and rest for this life.
The lamentations inspired by our recent shift in schedule and the resultant loss of sleep have been legion. The chorus was loudly sung by churchgoing folk on Sunday and has continued to crescendo as we’ve entered into Monday. We are weary and worn out by the reality of the world in which we live. It is a relatively small struggle in the grand scheme of things, but the struggle is real. Rather than singing our song of lamentation, perhaps we should sing a song of humble gratitude. Let us call out to Jesus with faith that He hears, understands, and will draw near to us, even in this small struggle. The weakness that comes through struggles and hardships provides opportunities for Christ to reveal His strength, and it is in seasons of exhaustion that Christ promises to come and give us rest. May we call out to Him and experience the support and rest that come through His power and presence in our lives, even on the most Mondayest of Mondays.
