Why are we always so tired?

It is certainly a common conversation piece.
Maybe it's just habit?
Or maybe we are just going at breakneck speeds?
In fact, I think we used to say that if we could just slow down it'd be better. Then COVID hit and we found out we didn't really slow down, we just filled our time with something else. Because it is still a common conversation piece.

What is the conversation I regularly hear? ...How tired we all are.
Think about it, have you said it lately? Have you heard others? Because I hear it all the time.

We are going all the time, non-stop. And when we do stop, we fill it with fruitless activities (partly because we are so tired we settle for the easiest mind-numbing activity). We fill up our lives from one end to the other, always desiring to get a rest, always wanting better sleep... some day. *sigh* Sound familiar?

Let's try and diagnose what may be missing.

Certainly rest would be nice. Sleep would be a dream. And certainly I am not going to add to your plate so that you can just feel guilty, right? (Because that is not what I want to do is make you feel guilty! Really!) In fact, what I desire is that you will rest, that you will sleep more soundly. Because if you did you'd think more clearly, engage in healthier activities and find less fog-in-the-brain. That means you'll likely worship more clearly. You'll find greater understanding when you read God's Word. Your prayer life may very well be more meaningful too. So the benefits of rest and sleep are huge!
I actually think it may start rather simply. I am actually going to suggest that the start to real rest and sleep is not very hard at all. And, it falls in one of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:8). Ready?
Start taking a Sabbath. Yes, seriously. Start taking a day to set aside each week.
God put the day of rest into each week for us as a gift. It's an island of "get to" in a sea of "have to". It's a day for a break from the loads of things we do the rest of the week. It’s time for re-creation. It's a day with purpose (not a day just to goof off and take in more fruitless activity). It's life-giving breath for you.

God’s design isn’t to punish little kids with naps on Sundays or to drive us to boredom and inactivity once every seven days. He made the Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).

The Sabbath is an opportunity to trust God more than ourselves.

God actually intends on us taking a day of rest now, in 2020!

This flows into just getting sleep at night too. Get this, sleep and rest is a reminder that you are not God (“I am not the Christ” John 3:28, 30); that you do not bear the strain of providing and taking care of… you! God does!

Think about this verse from Psalm 127:2, "It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep."

The idea of taking a day of rest is easy, but the action of it is hard. We usually say "it can't be done" - it's "unreasonable". But that isn't God's thought. Taking a day to set aside and rest in the Lord - a day where you intentionally do things that will build up your soul for the week... like church for instance - is hard for us because it requires us to trust God with our schedules and "need to get it done" mentality. So it's hard to let go, it's hard to intentionally stop.

But the God who created you knows best – and He says take a Sabbath, trust Me! When it comes to all the “stuff” we can do and have, God expects us to say no to a whole lot of good things so that we can be freed up to say yes to the most important things He has for us.

God is not a hard taskmaster. Trust Him.

What would you need to practically do this week to put in place a day of rest? (i.e. tell the family before Saturday what the plan is, so block it out, say "no" to some things so you can say "yes" to trusting God.)
What would you need to do to get better sleep? (i.e. turn off the screens - like TV's and phones - in your house early. Cut out a show.)

Let me challenge you to try it just for the next four weeks. I know, I know, school is starting, small groups, lots of things. Ask God to help you prioritize. If this is His desire for you, and it is, will He not supply the strength and ability to accomplish what He desires... even though you will need to lean heavily into Him to accomplish it? You better believe it!

2 Peter 1:2-3, "May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence."

Trust Him my friend. Lean in. See He is worth resting in.