Are you feeling energized?
When I sat down to write this weekly devotional, I found my eyes crossing. My brain felt like a sparking wire. As I tried to pray and listen for what the Lord wanted me to share with his people this week, it felt as if I was underwater. Thoughts wandered, attention drifted, yawns persisted…
Yep. I was dog-tired.
Of course, fatigue is nothing new to me—not as a ministry worker, writer, steward of my household, or mother of an early-riser. Yet as I attempted to think and reason through tiredness, the fatigue was all I could think about.
We all experience a form of tiredness. Not just the kind that comes from a bout of midnight insomnia (my personal affliction at the time of writing this), but a kind of soul-weariness. A weariness that comes from having one’s spiritual eyes open to the evil in this day and age. A tiredness of the pains and plights of this world, both near and abroad. A fatigue that comes from bearing one another’s burdens as the Body of Christ wages spiritual warfare, afflicted in some way by the enemy while we stand together to withstand his fiery arrows.
This kind of weariness weighs down our very souls…and it’s not just a present-day struggle. The biblical records of Jacob, Moses, and Elijah, kings, prophets, and others reveal that they faced and carried great burdens as they did the work of God. Throughout their lives, we can see where they grew frustrated and weary with their circumstances and the sin of this world, even among God’s people.
But what a joy it is to know that the same God who was with His people and sustained them then is also with us, sustaining us now!
This week, we encourage you to seek rest and energy from the Lord. Ask Him to help you be aware of what exhausts your soul. Seek peace amidst the storms of life through prayer, meditating on the Word, and by being mindful of the promises and presence of God. It’s important to actively renew our minds and guard our peace.
Let’s bring our weary souls to the Lord rather than wait to be energized someday. When we rest in the peace and joy the Lord gives, He rejuvenates us and helps us remain steadfast and not be shaken by the world, making us so much more effective for kingdom work and more joyful overall!
