阅读经文 

近日，我们经常听到服务行业的从业者说他们感到精疲力竭，这些人包括社会工作者、教师、警察、牧师、医务人员等等。当你的工作专注在服务受困扰的人时，你自己也很难避免不受到困扰；你尽心尽意帮助人，但结果却看不到什么进展，或者得不到人们的谢意，实在令人感到不快。

从这个角度来看，耶稣实在是非凡至极的：“祂凭真实将公理传开。祂不灰心，也不丧胆，直到祂在地上设立公理。”

你有没有灰心丧胆？你是否正在认同有这些感受的人？你不需要亲身从事服务行业，也会感到到精疲力竭的。我们的家庭往往会面对疲惫不堪的时刻，而用心去关爱我们社群里那些伤痛、面对破碎关系、或经历精神健康问题的人，会大大消耗每一个人的精力。当我们的年龄渐长时，也越来越多要负起照顾年老父母的责任。

你和我都不是耶稣，但我们却蒙祂呼召去跟从祂。祂不灰心、也不丧胆，然而我们可以容许自己感到丧胆。但我们可以把我们的失望交给祂；我们可以治死感到失望的那一部分的我；我们更深信，在适当的时刻（尽管是在离现在或许很远的将来）我们将会重新得力，能够继续以祂的跟随者的身份再次投入侍奉。

We hear a lot about burnout these days in the service professions: social workers, teachers, police officers, pastors, medical workers, and more. When your work focuses on serving people in distress, it’s difficult not to become distressed too. It can be unsettling to pour your heart and soul into helping others, and in the end to see little improvement and receive little gratitude.

With this in mind, we realize that Jesus is profoundly remarkable: “In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.”

Are you faltering or discouraged, or are you supporting someone who is? You don’t need to be a service professional to experience burnout. Families often face wearying times. And working to love people in our communities who are grieving, dealing with broken relationships, or experiencing mental health struggles takes a toll on everyone. As our lifespans get longer and longer, more and more people are also serving as caregivers for elderly parents.

You and I are not Jesus; rather, we are called to be his followers. Because he does not falter or become discouraged, we can give ourselves permission to feel discouraged. And we can surrender our discouragement to him; we can let that part of us die too, and we can trust that at the right time (even a long time from now) we will be replenished and able to continue serving as his followers again.