The Lamanites who were supposed to be guarding the Nephite prisoners in the city of Gid explained their decision to drink the newly-delivered wine immediately by saying (twice), “We are weary” (Alma 55:9, 11).
Weariness affects us all. Hard work and stress lead to exhaustion, and we all need opportunities to rest and recover. But sometimes there’s a job to be done, and weariness is no excuse for negligence.
“Be not weary in well doing,” wrote the apostle Paul (Galatians 6:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:13), a sentiment echoed in Alma’s counsel to Helaman and in modern revelation. (See Alma 37:34, Doctrine and Covenants 64:33.) The expectation is that, when something needs to be done, we will overcome our natural resistance, including our tiredness, and do the work.
God praised Nephi for declaring His word with “unwearyingness” (Helaman 10:4-5). He chided His disciples when they fell asleep as He suffered in the garden of Gethsemane: “Could ye not watch with me one hour?” (Matthew 26:40, Mark 14:37, Luke 22:45-46).
We have all experienced that surge of energy which comes when you commit to a task and start doing it. The tiredness which was so conspicuous before you started fades to the background as we engage and get moving. Furthermore, when we are doing God’s work, He provides us with renewed energy:
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 40:30-31
Today, I will overcome my weariness and do the work that needs to be done. I will trust God to renew my strength, and I will get started on new tasks with confidence that He will help me finish them.
We need to be finishers! Without finishing, we cannot have the reward of a laborer who endures! Imagine a laborer in the vineyard who gives up before the harvest is ended. Did he believe in the cause? Did he trust in the Lord’s promises? Was his love so great as to inspire our memory?
I completely agree. I personally sometimes find it easier to start a project than to complete it. This blog post has helped me to discipline myself to do the things I know I should do when I don’t feel like doing them. Thanks for the comment!