Trust in the Midst of Weariness

“But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” - Isaiah 40:31
 
God is powerful. The understatement of the century, right?  We know God is powerful – I could write out a list of every single demonstration of that power I can think of and it still wouldn’t cover just how far His power reaches. His power is great and it’s beautiful. It covers so many bases, and because we see it demonstrated so often, we have full confidence that we can trust in it. We can trust God because he is powerful.  But it actually extends beyond that. God’s power isn’t limited to just Himself – He doesn’t demonstrate His might just to show off. He isn’t selfish, solely focusing on Himself and what He can do. God is faithful to those who are walking with Him. He honors the sacrifices we make to follow and serve him, and He often uses his power to do just that.  That’s the thing about God. He’s powerful, but he’s also good and kind-hearted. He renews our strength, he goes above and beyond to take care of us when we can’t take care of ourselves. Yes, we can trust him because he’s powerful, but we can’t also trust that he will use that power to restore our weary souls.

Matthew 11:28-29 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will  find rest for your souls.”
 
God’s desire is to grant us rest when we are weary, broken, tired, to the end of the rope. Being a Christian doesn’t automatically mean that things will be easy all the time. Hard times still come, we still face exhaustion and anxiety. But just because we face hard times doesn’t mean that God has turned his back on us. In those times, he wants us to lay our burdens at his feet, to come to him and release all the stress and the hurt onto him so that he can grant us rest. He describes himself as gentle and humble in heart – does that not make you want to trust him?  Often, we focus on how big and mighty God is that we forget to look for his gentleness, which is actually one of my favorite parts of who God is. He is so big, so powerful, so intense, yet at the same time he comes down to us and meets us where we are. He wants us to lay down everything at his feet, lean back into his arms, and breathe in the knowledge that he is good and loves more deeply than we could ever imagine. And in those times, in that rest, our strength is restored. His power comes through his gentleness and love just as clearly as his might.
 
Author | Emma Whitmer