Right and wrong exhaustion

It's just me and the boys this weekend. Kristen is away on a weekend trip with the girls she lived with in college, and we are grateful that she can be there. However, it hasn't been easy. I've been pretty sick, along with Baxter, and Owen says he is sick, though he hasn't shown any symptoms (though when asked, he does give a staggering list of symptoms which would foil the most capable diagnostician, such as "I'm sick in my mouth, but it comes in my throat and goes out my mouth when I cough..."). Needless to say, I'm exhausted tonight. (By the way, these trips are great for a number of reasons, including the chance to get some quality "boy play time," as Owen calls it, as well as the chance to experience what it's like every day for Kristen...motherhood is indeed a high and valuable and thoroughly-exhausting calling!)

But is it wrong to be exhausted after a long day of taking care of children? Kristen and I talked about this recently. I think there is a right exhaustion and a wrong exhaustion. There is a kind of godly, biblically-faithful, and God-honoring exhaustion, and there is a kind of ungodly, unbiblical, and self-exalting exhaustion. The difference centers mainly around where we have been drawing our strength from in our labors. If our source of strength throughout the day has been ourselves, then we will often end up exhausted with the kind of exhaustion that leaves a bad taste in our mouth. It's the kind of exhaustion that is hopeless and unsatisfying. But if our source of strength throughout the day has been the Lord, then we will close the day with a sweet, peaceful, fulfilling kind of exhaustion. That is a hope-filled and satisfying exhaustion, stemming from the honest and humble realization that the day's energies have been fully spent for the glory of God.

If we are fulfilling our God-given callings with all diligence, faithfulness, and humble dependence on God and "the strength that He supplies" (1 Peter 4:11, Ephesians 6:10), then it is right for us to be exhausted. In a very real sense, we should be exhausted in this way.

When we are exhausted, I think we should be asking ourselves, "Am I exhausted because I've been living my day as if God didn't exist, self-sufficient and relying on the wisdom of man? Or am I exhausted because I've been vigorously carrying out the roles and responsibilities God has given to me, looking to Him continually for supplies of grace and strength, spending myself for the advancement of His kingdom, and living with all my might while I do live?" (Jonathan Edwards, Resolution #6). Next time you sigh that big sigh, or speak about how exhausted you are to your spouse or friend, take a moment to consider these things, asking the Holy Spirit to convict you of the sin of self-sufficiency and to enable you to live out Colossians 3:23-24: "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."