Tired.

It would be impossible to define the year 2020 with one word, undoubtedly we will try. For me the word that comes to mind is tired. We are tired of the uncertainty. We are tired of not knowing what to do. We are tired of people telling us what to do. We are tired of “bearing with one another” which is strange because we are more apart than we ever have been. We are tired of worrying. Wondering. Waiting. Wishing that things were normal again and then remembering that normal then was not actually all that great. Some of us have faced our worst fears. Some of us have merely been awakened to them. Still others of us are still gathering the courage to do either of the two.

We were hoping this would be the year and it was. It was just not the year we were hoping for. Those filling up the ICU’s and those running them, those under the weight of the economic crisis, those experiencing the hardships and injustices of life, echo the sentiment of Fannie Lou Hamer, we are “sick and tired of being sick and tired” (1964).

It is not the first time in history that people have been tired. It is not the first time people have looked around and found no good options, no easy way out of circumstances they would rather not be in. And it will not be the first time God makes a way for His people. It is okay to be tired. If you are one of His you can rest. If you are not one of His you can become one. Then you can rest. Perhaps the hardest thing you are facing is a result of current unrest and uncertainty. Perhaps current events are just the icing on your cake. Today I found rest in this verse.

The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.

Exodus 14:14

If the word of the year ends up being tired, perhaps we should add a follow up word. Rest.