September 29: Strength for the Weary
You woke up tired. Not just sleepy. Tired in your bones. Weeks of amends, hard conversations, old feelings stirred up. How do you keep going?
“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah says God gives power to the weak. He increases strength for those who have no might. Even young people get tired and fall. But those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They’ll soar like eagles. They’ll run and not be weary. They’ll walk and not faint.
Notice the order at the end. Soar. Run. Walk. It goes from the most dramatic to the most ordinary. Some days you’ll soar. Some days you’ll run. And some days, honestly, the best you can do is walk without fainting. That’s a win too.
Step Nine is hard on the body and soul. Each amends takes energy. You carry it for days afterward. By the end of the month, a lot of people feel drained. That’s normal.
The answer is not to try harder. It’s to wait on the Lord. Waiting here means trusting, hoping and leaning on Him. It means getting your strength from God instead of from your own effort.
On hard mornings, start slow. Get up. Drink some water. Pray even a short prayer. “Lord, I’m weak. Give me strength for today.” Read Isaiah 40 if you can. Then do the next small thing.
Take care of your body. Eat breakfast. Get outside for a few minutes. Go to bed earlier tonight. Weariness isn’t only spiritual.
And give yourself permission to slow down your amends schedule if you need to. Discipline doesn’t mean burning out. A steady walk gets further than a sprint that ends in a collapse.
God hasn’t run out of strength. He has plenty for you today. He doesn’t get tired of you, either. Not of your needs, not of your prayers, not of your slow progress.
One thing today
Do one small thing for your body this morning: eat, walk, drink water or rest. Then pray, “Lord, renew my strength for today.”
A prayer
Lord, I’m tired. I have no strength of my own left today. I’m waiting on You. Renew me. Help me walk today without fainting, and someday soon, help me run again. Amen.
Pace yourself as you work through Step Nine.
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