Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 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 40:28-31
These verses talk about the word faint. The word faint in our physical lives can mean “weak or dizzy, causing loss of consciousness.” I have been very fortunate never to have experienced a fainting episode. A few times, I have thought I may faint or felt as though I would “pass out,” but I never did. However, I have seen another person faint. We all have had times when we have felt weak or faint physically. This feeling can come from becoming overheated, overworked, and even overwhelmed (for example, having overwhelming fear such as having stage fright).
There have been times when I would come home feeling physically and emotionally exhausted after working a twenty-four-hour shift on an ambulance. During some shifts, we would go to call after call, and the shift seemed to never end. On these days, I would walk in the door of my house, hit the pillow, and sleep for hours. Rest is what I needed.
In our spiritual lives, we are going to have days when we are faint and are just exhausted. While enduring trials, heartaches, or just hard times, we will become faint and weak. A familiar passage of Scripture that I was taught at a young age is Psalm 23, and I find myself quoting it often. The second verse of that chapter says, He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:… This verse reminds me of when I was young and was made to take a nap. I was not too keen on that idea! However, my parents knew that I needed to rest.
God knows we need the rest too. Often times in our day-to-day lives, we run our races serving God, and we find ourselves growing tired physically and spiritually. I believe God makes us rest by putting us in situations in which we need to stop for a little while and spend time with Him while resting in His care. The chapter continues in saying, He restoreth my soul:… Our God going to give us rest, and it is in that rest that He can work on us, restore us, and give us a recharge or a reboot.
As a mom of three amazing children, there are days when I am exhausted. As they grow older, I am not as tired as I was when they were awake half of the night. I do get weary mentally, though, of the constant “Mom? Mom? Mom?” that I hear. I must admit that there are some times when I pray, “Lord, please make them say ‘Dad’ just this one time!” Making sure my daughter does her piano lessons every day, getting my youngest to speech therapy, doing the twice-a-week Walmart pickups for groceries, and yes, even playing basketball with my oldest can feel overwhelming! I will not even talk about the endless piles of laundry that need to be washed and put away! Being a wife and mother can be demanding at times, but I am never alone in doing all I need to do. Even with all of the things that come along with being a wife and mother, God is still there for me.
In our weak condition, let us be reminded that we have a strong God. Isaiah 40:28 assures us of this: …hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God,…fainteth not, neither is weary?… In our fainting situations, we have a God Who is willing and ready to pick us up and carry us through to the other side. When our strength is weak, we can rest in Him, and He will restore us.
by Mandy Harper