Weary: 1. exhausted in strength, endurance, vigor, or freshness.   2. Having one’s patience, tolerance, or pleasure exhausted.

Recently, I’ve felt weary.  I’ve simply felt worn down, spread thin, and like I’m running on fumes. The long winter and delay of spring hasn’t helped either! Have you ever felt this way?

I grow weary when I stop counting on and communicating with God and rely only on my own power and strength.  I disconnect from Jesus for a variety of reasons including busyness, pride, stubbornness, arrogance, hurt, or just laziness. Regardless of the reason, the result is almost always the same. I end up feeling weary. And it’s no wonder. My body and mind are weak and have limits. God’s power and strength is without limits. Look at what Isaiah 40:28-31 says,

²⁸ Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

But the truth behind the times I feel weary, is that I lose sight of my identity. I forget that I am a precious child of God. I forget that my purpose is to please Him, not everyone else. I forget that my worth is found in His love for me and not in my own accomplishment. And that is when I end up stumbling, that is when I fall.

When I remember I’m a beloved child of God, I more easily rely on Him. There is little hope to be found in my own talents and abilities, but there is much hope in the limitless strength of the Lord. I don’t know what it would feel like to soar on the back of an eagle, but it sounds pretty exhilarating! I dream of being able to go on a run and not return exhausted! And that’s the strength and power we  have access to when we stay connected to our identity in Christ as God’s beloved!