Tired and Blessed

Sometimes working on a car can frustrate the living snot out of you. I thought I was done but when I turned the key the newly installed power steering pump proved to be defective, it howled like coyote on a moonlit night. On the second attempt I forgot to hook up the transmission cooler lines to the radiator and after turning the engine on pumped a liberal amount of transmission fluid onto my garage floor. After cleaning up the mess it became obvious the pressure line to the power steering pump didn’t seal. This is how small jobs escalate into major headaches. I can see why people take their cars to a mechanic, except that Dad is whole lot cheaper.Since Susie and I are not tired enough, and since I seem to cave in under the pressure of my daughters, and since I seem to like having a puppy slobber all over my face  while I am lying under a car, we added a little canine to our lives. Where were my friends that should’ve stopped me. Too late, Leroy Brown has moved in, let the chewing begin.I wish tiredness and weariness would be confined to small things like that, don’t you? If life would be that simple Jesus would’ve had no need to tell people then and now to, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT).What tiredness and weariness was Jesus speaking about? How much tiredness was Jesus addressing when he said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me” Matthew 5:1-11 (NASB, italics mine)?  Ever been tired of yielding little to no influence, to always be at the mercy of powers greater than you? Or what about being tired of mourning caused by the continual destruction dished out by violence, war, death, corruption, greed, pain and wrong? How many will get tired today of being gentle, humble, and meek and decide to get a piece of theirs by whatever means? How long does it take to be tired of thirsting and hungering for poverty, injustice, and evil to end? And when does being merciful turn into being taken advantage of and becomes exhausting? How hard is it to keep a pure heart in impure situations, in a nasty world? When do you give up on peace and throw in the towel? When does the price for living right, for trying to be godly become too steep?Tiredness and tiredness of soul tempts us to surrender, to cave in, to check out, to be overcome by and participate in the very things that wear us down. It makes a difference who we listen to, who and what we follow when we are tired. There are ways to be blessed, and to bless even when we weary, exhausted, and beat up. "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock” Matthew 7:24-25 (NASB).Always remember who and what God blesses. Pastor Hans