Dear Weary Reader

Receiving the strength God offers when we need it most.

One of my most constant companions over the past few years has been weariness.

The combination of my own healing journey, navigating a pandemic while leading a church, losing friends, and the normal hard work of raising a family has left me finishing many days feeling uncertain where the energy for the next would come from.

Don’t get me wrong; I have days when it feels like nothing but blue skies ahead.

But then something as simple as an uncomfortable conversation can fill those same skies with storm clouds.

Then I’m reminded again that I’m walking weary.

I’ve had to learn that weariness doesn’t always mean something is wrong.

I’m grateful. I adore my wife and kids. My work is meaningful, and I mostly enjoy it. I see dozens of expressions of God’s goodness each day. Most of the time, I’m content. In short, I’m pretty happy.

But I’m also weary.

Thankfully, I’ve also learned that God offers me His sustaining strength every day. Please don’t read that as a spiritual platitude you might find on a tacky print sold at Hobby Lobby.

God’s sustaining strength is one of the most real, practical, and necessary experiences He offers you and me. The challenge is that we have to be willing to slow down and receive it from Him.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Isaiah 40 is filled with wonderful news for weary people.

The Israelites were exiled to Babylon after the conquest of Jerusalem, a traumatic event that led to significant despair and questioning of God’s promises. The exiles struggled with feelings of abandonment, loss of identity, and the seeming triumph of their oppressors.

In short, they were weary.

Isaiah’s message of comfort crescendos at the close of this chapter:

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never becomes faint or weary; there is no limit to his understanding. He gives strength to the faint and strengthens the powerless. Youths may become faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary; they will walk and not faint.”

(Isaiah 40:28-31 CSB)

I want you to notice three simple points in these verses:

1. God Doesn’t Get Weary.

Verse 28 says, “He never becomes faint or weary.” So, despite literally carrying the weight of the world on His shoulders, God doesn’t get tired. Not physically, mentally, emotionally, or relationally. There is no way in which God gets weary.

2. Weariness is an Inevitable Human Experience.

Verse 30 should sober even the most ambitious among us when it says, “Youths may become faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall…” That means even at the peak of our most energetic season of life, we still get tired. Every facet of our being is finite. As a result, weariness might just be the most universally shared human experience.

3. God Offers to Share His Strength.

The good news for you and me is sandwiched right there between God’s endless strength and the inevitability of our weariness. Verse 29 says, “He gives strength to the faint and strengthens the powerless.” God isn’t stingy with His strength. In fact, He longs to share it with you and me.

And the promise of God’s strength comes with a condition.

Isaiah says, “…those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength…”

The truth is, translating the Hebrew word “qwh” (pronounced kee-va) into English as “trust” may not be the most helpful choice. We often think of “trust” as a feeling. To trust someone or something means feeling secure or confident.

But trust is more than a feeling.

When we trust someone or something, the feeling translates into action.

For instance, I “trust” my car to safely transport me to work each day. As a result, I climb in, start it up, and drive the short distance to our ministry center. If I woke up one morning and did not trust my car would get me there, then I’d walk, ride my bike, or get a ride.

Trust is a feeling, or belief that translates into action.

So here’s the question: If God promises to share His strength with those who trust in Him, what does it actually look like to trust Him for it? What is the action our trust should translate to?

My practice is pretty simple:

I want to sit with God in a meaningful manner as frequently as possible.

I’ve noticed that I’m a lot like my Apple Watch. Usually, around 8 p.m. every night, I receive a pop-up informing me that the battery is low. I get it. It works hard every day. It tracks my activity, provides me calendar reminders, and keeps me informed about the many text messages I receive each day. Oh yeah, and it tells time, which I often forget.

When the battery gets low, my watch asks if I want to put it in power-saving mode. When turned on, it stops using any non-essential functions to preserve the battery a little bit longer. But it will still eventually run out of power.

What it really needs is some time sitting on the charger. Until it’s plugged into that power source, the charge doesn’t truly renew.

My strength is the same. When I’m weary, there are things I can do to extend my limited energy. Mainly, I can avoid things that drain my strength. The problem is, my life is filled with draining experiences and responsibilities.

And so is yours.

Doing our best to simply avoid the things that drain us will not sufficiently renew our strength. It might only delay our burnout. Like a dying battery, we need a powerful source to renew our charge.

This is one of our most practical reasons to sit with God in a meaningful manner as frequently as possible.

I find that my weariness diminishes when I’m mindful of His presence, aware of His care, share my burdens openly, and I’m receptive to His voice.

Part of what is both beautiful and frustrating about sitting with God in a meaningful manner is that we’re all different. God doesn’t relate with us as a monolithic entity. He relates with us personally and individually. He knows your unique personality, mental makeup, and every wound that might inform the way you relate with Him.

That’s beautiful!

It’s also frustrating because I can’t prescribe exactly how you can sit with Him meaningfully. I’d have to know so much about you. And you can’t simply mimic what “works” for someone else because you’re not them. Sure, we can learn from one another, but the idea that we can simply replicate another person’s relationship with God is misguided.

But we can ask the Holy Spirit for the wisdom He promises (James 1:5-6). We can learn about and experiment with the wealth of spiritual practices God has given us to connect with Him. We can craft a way of life that prioritizes deep communion with God each day.

This is how we trust in Him. This is how we position ourselves to receive His renewing strength.

So, dear weary reader…

• What might it look like for you to take God up on such a generous offer?

• What might be keeping you from sitting with Him more frequently?

• What might be some ways you could breathe fresh air into stagnant spiritual practices?

• What might it look like for you to trust God’s desire to give you strength in a way that translates into action?

Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

It’s okay that you’re worn out. It’s understandable if you’re feeling run down. It’s normal if you feel tired.

AND…

You need not trust your self-sufficiency. You can learn to sit with God in a meaningful manner that renews your strength.