SEPTEMBER THEME — “SEEING THE CROSS FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE”
BEATS FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART
WHEN YOUR STRENGTH RUNS OUT
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength…” — Isaiah 40:31
GOD DOES NOT JUST GIVE STRENGTH, HE RENEWS IT
There are burdens you can carry for a day that become almost unbearable when you have carried them for months. Waiting can exhaust you. You can become tired of praying about the same thing, tired of hoping, tired of wondering when something will change, and tired of waking up to the same burden you went to bed carrying the night before. Isaiah does not say that those who wait upon the Lord will never become tired. He says their strength will be renewed. That means there will be moments when my strength runs low, when my emotions feel depleted, and when I simply do not have enough within myself to keep going as I have been going. And perhaps that is exactly the point. God sometimes allows us to reach the end of our own strength so that we can begin discovering the sufficiency of His. The Christian life was never intended to be sustained by human determination alone. When my strength runs out, God has not run out.
GOD ALLOWS ME TO DISCOVER THE LIMITS OF MY OWN STRENGTH
Most of us do not like feeling weak. We would rather feel capable, in control, and able to manage whatever comes our way. But sooner or later, life brings us to situations that are bigger than we are. There are burdens I cannot fix. There are people I cannot change. There are circumstances I cannot control. There are prayers I cannot answer. There are seasons I cannot shorten. And when I finally reach the place where I have to admit, “Lord, I cannot do this,” I may actually be standing at the doorway of deeper faith. God is not trying to humiliate me by showing me my weakness. He is trying to free me from the illusion of self-sufficiency. As long as I think I can handle everything, I will keep depending upon myself. But when my strength runs out, I begin to understand the words of Jesus in John 15:5: “Without me ye can do nothing.” Sometimes weakness becomes holy ground because it teaches me to stop leaning on myself and start leaning fully on Christ.
GOD RENEWS STRENGTH BY EXCHANGING MY WEAKNESS FOR HIS SUFFICIENCY
Isaiah says those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. The idea is not merely that God gives me a little more of my own strength. He supplies what I do not have. This is where the exchanged life becomes so practical. I come to God saying, “Lord, I am empty.” And He says, “My grace is sufficient.” I say, “Lord, I cannot carry this.” And He says, “Cast thy burden upon the LORD.” I say, “Lord, I do not know how much longer I can do this.” And He says, “My strength is made perfect in weakness.” God does not simply cheer me on from a distance and say, “Try harder.” He gives me Himself. Sometimes we pray only for God to remove the burden. And He may do that. But sometimes His greater work is to give us strength we did not have to carry what has not yet been removed. The circumstances may not change today. But I can change because His strength is becoming my strength. The burden may still be there. But I am no longer carrying it alone.
RENEWED STRENGTH IS GIVEN ONE DAY AT A TIME
One reason we become overwhelmed is that we try to carry tomorrow’s burdens with today’s strength. We start asking, “How will I do this next month? How will I handle this if nothing changes? What if this continues another year?” But God has not promised tomorrow’s strength today. He has promised grace for the present moment. There is strength for today. There is grace for this hour. There is mercy for this step. Sometimes renewed strength does not feel dramatic. Sometimes it is simply enough strength to get out of bed, pray one more prayer, make one more phone call, forgive one more time, take one more step, and trust God for one more day. And then tomorrow, there will be fresh grace again. God does not always give us enough strength to see the entire road. Sometimes He gives us just enough for the next step so that we will keep walking with Him.
Imagine holding a cup beneath a running faucet. As long as the cup is already full of something else, very little fresh water can enter it. But when the cup is emptied, it can be filled again. Sometimes our strength has to run out before we realize how much we have been depending upon ourselves. We keep saying, “I can handle it. I can manage it. I can keep going.” And eventually we discover that we cannot. That is when God says, “Now let Me fill what you cannot fill yourself.” Your emptiness is not useless. It creates room for His sufficiency. The goal is not to prove that I am strong. The goal is to discover that He is.
If your strength has run out, do not assume that you have failed. You may simply have reached the place where God wants to teach you a deeper kind of dependence. Isaiah does not promise that waiting will never make you weary. He promises that those who wait upon the Lord will have their strength renewed. So when you reach the end of yourself, do not panic. Do not quit. Do not believe the enemy when he tells you that you cannot continue. Instead, say, “Lord, I have reached the end of my strength, but I have not reached the end of Yours.” Sometimes the greatest breakthrough is not God immediately removing the burden. Sometimes the breakthrough is discovering that His strength is sufficient while the burden remains. When my strength runs out, His strength has only begun.
WARFARE PRAYER
Father, in the name of Jesus, I come to You tired, weak, and aware of my limitations. I reject the lie of the enemy that says my weakness means I am defeated. I refuse to carry in my own strength what You never intended me to carry alone. I surrender my exhaustion, frustration, fear, and heaviness to You. Renew my strength. Fill every empty place with Your grace. Where I feel unable, become my sufficiency. Where I feel overwhelmed, steady my heart. Where I feel like quitting, give me grace for one more step. I declare that my strength may fail, but You never fail. Live Your life through me and carry me where I cannot carry myself. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
DAILY CHALLENGE
When you feel emotionally, physically, or spiritually exhausted today, stop and pray: “Lord, I exchange my weakness for Your strength. I cannot do this in myself, but Christ in me is enough for this moment.”Then take the next step God has put in front of you and trust Him for the strength to take it.
TUESDAY’S PRAYER NEEDS
Britany Smith
Darlene Kelley – Surgery went well
Darlene Thaxton
Ginny Ford
Kim’s McClain’s Mother
Rob Davis
Susan Bankston