Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Hebrews 12:3 ESV)
Endurance
A fire can burn in two ways. When the campfire blazes, the logs burn hotly and brightly. But later, even though the flames are not visible, the log can continue to burn… slowly and quietly. But both are burning.
We also have two kinds of tired. We might be tired from extensive exertion. The kind of tired we become after hot, sweaty, painful work. Or we might be tired from a long slow exertion. The kind of tired we become when we perform a behind-the-scenes work. Low energy, but still tiring.
But I contend that both kinds of tired are usually felt because we are noticing our own work, our own exertions, our own sacrifice, our own pain.
And, of course, we notice such things. If we did not, we might fail to respond to our bodies, minds, and hearts. We might cause harm to ourselves or others though exhaustion.
But this verse reminds us that we have a neglected solution to tiredness. When the work must be done, when relief will best be granted through completion, when our self-focus is more distraction than helpful diagnosis, remember these words.
Consider Him.
He endured both kinds of tired. So that we may not grow weary or fainthearted.
That can be an example for us, yes. We are His followers, after all.
But more than that, endurance becomes possible when our eyes are not so focused on ourselves. And our hard work is not an end to itself, but is given to us to put our eyes on Jesus. Our exhaustion is given to us to put our eyes on Jesus. Our struggles are given to us to put our eyes on Jesus.
We are peculiar, we can endure through Jesus.