Exhaustion

By 9:00 last night I was completely exhausted. The kids and I had a very, VERY busy day. On our way home from being out and about all day we picked up some Chinese take-out for dinner, came home and munched down on it. Then it was off to bed for the kiddos. After I finished cleaning up the kitchen and tidying up a bit I sat down on the couch to relax. Wanting to get a tad bit more comfortable and relaxed, I stretched out horizontally and covered my feet with the quilt. "Ahhhh, much better," I thought to myself. Flipping through the channels I finally stopped on something that caught my eye. When the next commercial came on I decided to "rest" my eyes for a few minutes.

Well...those few minutes turned into 6 hours. YIKES!!! When I woke up it was 2:00 a.m. Guess I didn't realize just how exhausted I really was.

All day today my mind has been inundated with thoughts about being exhausted.

Webster's Dictionary defines exhaustion as the act or process of drawing off or letting out completely; the process of being emptied by drawing off the contents.

As I thought more and more about exhaustion, I couldn't help but think about the last Friday of Jesus' life here on earth. Talk about exhaustion!! The exhaustion I experienced pales in comparison to what Christ went through that day...

~an intense prayer time in the Garden of Gethsemane yielding to God's will for His life left Him sweating drops of blood

~betrayed by one of the twelve for a mere 30 pieces of silver followed by His being arrested

~trial number 1 under Annas, a former Jewish High Priest and the first physical beating

~trial number 2 under the current Jewish High Priest Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin and a second beating that leaves Him bloody and bruised

~trial number 3 where it is decided by the Jewish elders, High Priest, scribes, and Sanhedrin to pass Jesus off to the Roman government asking them to kill Him

~trial 4- the Roman Governor Pilate finds no fault in Him

~trial 5- hearing before Herod Antipas- Jesus is questioned but remains silent the entire time refusing to answer any of the questions that are posed to Him- Herod quickly returns Him to Pilate

~trial 6- Pilate tries to release Jesus but Jewish leaders object to His being released- in order to satisfy the Jewish leaders, Pilate has Jesus beaten beyond recognition- this beating is not enough for the Jewish leaders and they demand that He be crucified- Pilate eventually gives in to their requests

~the Roman soldiers take Jesus to the Praetorium where they mock Him, torture Him, and drive a crown of thorns into His head

~Jesus carries His own cross to Calvary where He will willingly allow the soldiers to nail His hands and feet to the tree that He created

~with compassion and love in His heart for His mother, He instructs the beloved John to take care of her

~still desiring to see the lost saved, He prays for those who persecute Him and grants salvation to the thief who hangs beside Him

~into God's hands He commits His spirit and breathes His last breath

Exhaustion. Completely emptied.

From the moment sin entered the world, the process of Christ's emptying out began. God had a plan from the very beginning that His One and Only Son who spill forth His life so that you and I could be brought back into right relationship with Him.

Exhaustion. Only the perfect Lamb who willingly walked down the road to be slaughtered could have withstood all that this day brought forth.

I'm having a hard time today grasping all that Christ went through that day. All that He felt. All that He saw. And the fact that it was all for me (and you). I moan and groan and even get a little grumpy when I don't get enough rest. But, Jesus...there was not a moan or groan within Him. Grumpiness? Nope...only love.

Exhaustion. The act or process of drawing off or letting out completely; the process of being emptied by drawing off the contents.

He was spent.

Completely.

Entirely.

Emptied of His very life so that we could have new life.

That's grace, my friend. That's grace.

That's love.

That's compassion.

That's humble obedience to the Father's plan.

That's our Savior!!