Weariness During War – The Fourth Turning

As we progress through this war of the Fourth Turning, it is inevitable that weariness will set in. I’ve been experiencing it myself during these past few weeks.

In a traditional war, soldiers would get time away from the front lines. No one was expected to be actively engaged in the heat of the battle every day, month after month, year after year.

Because we are living through what some call Fourth Generation Warfare, it makes it much more difficult to escape the war. It’s an odd situation to be in. We can sense we are involved in a war because everything in the world is upside down. Wrong is called right and right is called wrong. We are being lied to by leadership and told to deny what we can see clearly with our own eyes. We’re being gaslighted by the media. We can discern it spiritually. People are dying. At the same time, we don’t see the typical physical carnage we associate with war. Because we don’t see what we think of as war based on what we’ve read about in history, it’s easy to dismiss it as not really as difficult as what people went through in the past.

But even if we don’t see the war visually in the way we could easily identify, we are experiencing it. Every one of us is feeling some level of battle scarring. This is happening to us emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and even physically through the stress of what we are living through.

In order to fix a problem, you have to first identify it. How is this warfare impacting your well-being?

• Emotionally – Are you struggling with anger, helplessness, despair, or other negative emotions? Is is impacting your sleep patterns?
• Mentally – Are you finding it difficult to carry out your responsibilities whether that is as a parent, husband, wife, employee, homeschooler, homemaker, caregiver, small business owner, or something else?
• Spiritually – Is it difficult to pray? Read Scripture? Trust the Lord? Worship? Sing?
• Physically – Do you feel lethargic, unmotivated, or exhausted for no real identifiable reason in your life? Are you gaining weight or losing weight from the underlying stress?

There is no shame in admitting these difficult times are wearing on you. We are human beings with limits and frailties. Weariness in difficult situations is normal.

My suggestion to you is this. Choose the area impacting you the most and will yourself to do something positive in this area today. The old saying of “do the next thing” is so true. Sometimes simply telling ourselves the truth that this will get better and then willing ourselves to act on that truth can improve things and propel us forward.

Each of us will pick something different.

• Emotionally – Talk to someone, exercise to get the positive hormones going, or make changes to improve your sleep.
• Mentally – Choose one area of responsibility that is wearing on you the most and will yourself to do something positive. Do something fun with your loved one. Clean out some clutter. Organize your materials. Finish an almost done project. Do something physically to clear out the mental cobwebs.
• Spiritual – Consistently pray and read the Scriptures even when it feels flat and like you aren’t connecting with God. Pray and read in faith. Don’t neglect your spiritual life and walk with Christ.
• Physical – Try to keep moving whether it is exercise, cleaning the house, or working in the yard. Deliberately choose to make some favorite meals that will be good for you.

In the end, we must continue to live our lives during this war. This war will end, our institutions will be rebuilt, and we’ll move into the First Turning. Do what you can to keep yourself as healthy as you can overall and look forward with hope to a better time ahead for all of us. Each one of us will be needed during the rebuilding.

Photos by Ben White, Ante Hamersmit, and Tom Henell on Unsplash