“You Won’t Grow Weary”
I’m sure you’ve heard the adage, “Work smarter, not harder.” For some reason, I have been very slow to learn that lesson. More often than not, when I’m working on a project, I don’t take the time to think about ways to save energy or make the work easier—I just try to power through as quickly as possible.
Inevitably, what happens is that I start the project strong, but it doesn’t take long for my endurance to fade, leading to decreased effectiveness and an increase in grumbling and complaining.
In short… it doesn’t take long for me to get tired.
The fact of the matter is that the longer we carry something, the more tired we get. The result is often a loss of hope and an increase in grumbling and complaining.
This Sunday In Mark 5:21-43, we will be introduced to two people:
- Jairus – one of the rulers of the synagogue.
- The Woman With the Issue of Blood – We know very little about her other than that she had spent 12 years searching for a solution to her health problems.
Both of these people were seemingly at the end of their rope—out of options and out of hope. I’m sure their souls were weary from carrying their burdens.
Until Jesus entered the picture. Suddenly, they had renewed hope for their situations. I’m sure both thought, “If anyone can do something about my situation, it’s Jesus.”
When we think about the challenges we face in life, how often do we approach them the way I approach home improvement projects? Head down, muscling through, without considering that there might be a better way—a sustaining power available to us in Christ.
Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might, He increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 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.
These words were given to comfort God’s people in light of Judah’s future exile to Babylon.1
They were written to remind them that the everlasting God not only sees their plight but also has the plan and power to restore them from their position of weakness.2
God is not drained by our difficulties. He is not impacted by them the way we are. Not only is He not drained, but He is also a source of unlimited strength available to us in times of uncertainty. And not just a little bit of strength—it’s an overabundance, far beyond even the seemingly endless energy of a child.
When we run out of endurance, God does not. In fact, He is the source of strength. When we feel like what we’re carrying is too heavy, the solution is not to try harder—it’s to trust deeper.
1 Kings 17:7-16
In this passage, we see a story about Elijah and a poor widow. Elijah is told to go to her city, where God has appointed her to provide for him (1 Kings 17:8).
In their first interaction, Elijah asks for water and bread. Her response reveals the desperation of her situation—she has nothing prepared. In fact, she only has enough for one last meal for her and her son before starvation claims their lives.
This is a desperate situation. She is faced with the difficult choice of providing for a stranger or her family. Yet Elijah tells her that if she provides for him first, then for her family, God will provide for her throughout the drought.
And not just with tiny morsels of bread—the flour and oil will not run dry. This implies an overabundance of provision in a time of extreme scarcity.
That is exactly the kind of strength God has available for us in difficult times—an overabundance of strength when it feels like we’ve run out of hope, and it will never return.
The hard part is that when we are in difficult times, we are tempted to take matters into our own hands—sometimes in ways that don’t align with God’s ways.
But the strength spoken of in Isaiah 40 is found only in trust. It is not found in muscling our way through situations by our own means. Instead, it is found in leaning into God and His ways.
It is found in continued obedience, in prayer, and in submission to him as our only hope.
Lamentations 3:22-23
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Adam