Worn out before its time?

Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31 NLT)

We grow weak and weary. Effort exerted in a day's work can leave us drained of physical energy, emotional strength, and spiritual fortitude at times. The efforts may have resulted in great gain, or limited success - either way, we come away feeling undone, wrung-out, and like our emotional 'bank account' has been drained. Those who trust, not with a flimsy, half-hearted faith, but with a deep, lasting faith in God are assured of finding a new strength, oftentimes beyond what we could find in ourselves.

How is that possible? The Lord is the Creator of all things, and he energizes all things - including those who have put their trust in him. "New Strength" isn't found in a particular 'remedy' - it is found in a very particular 'relationship'. As we commit our ways to him, he takes what little we have to offer and makes it great in his hands. Our limited strength becomes mighty when he enters into the situation. Our emotional connection might leave us 'drained' were it not for his sense of peace that comes when we put those issues into his hands.

Even youths will become weak and tired. We often equate fatigue with age. I have observed both the young and the old becoming weary and worn out - so age might not be the cause of our fatigue! It could be we are holding onto something Jesus asked us to let go of. We could be doing things Jesus told us not to invest our time or energy on. Disobedience is a very 'fatiguing' thing - holding on or doing something he clearly told us we shouldn't be investing our time or efforts on will always drain one or more of our 'strength' banks.

Want to run and not grow weary? It begins by placing our trust in him and him alone. That means we let go of what we think we can do in our own strength or ability and allow him to take the reins. We make exactly the investment he asks us to make - no more and certainly no less. If he asks us to 'leave it', we abandon it. If he tells us to put forth the effort, we invest in it. Trust is based on believing he has only our best in mind. When we truly believe he will not take away what we need, or give us more than we can handle, we might just begin to 'invest' our time and energy as he directs more frequently than just blindly investing ourselves in places, relationships, or situations that will only wear us down. Just sayin!