Skip to main content

Wait

             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. (Isaiah 40:31)

 

            Tonight, I need this passage to be true. Yes, “tonight.” None of the verses or passages I’ve looked at since this morning have inspired me, and it’s almost time for me to work on my story. I had a short but very long day at work because I’m tired. I’m not the only one. I’ve heard several complaints. I’ve folded more than 1250 boxes since last Monday, and it wasn’t because there wasn’t anything to do. We’ve gone through lots of boxes. I’m weary.

            I read through several translations and paraphrases of this verse. In some (like the NIV above), it sounds as if the one who hopes in the Lord will do what is necessary to regain their strength. In others, it seems more as if their strength will be renewed by God. In some, they have to hope in the Lord. In others, they have to wait for the Lord to act. I suspect the reality is that in both cases, it’s both. We have to act, and God has to act. We have to wait and hope.

            One of the hard things about today is that yesterday was wonderfully productive. This week has been productive. But that productivity has prices. One is weariness. Another is the letdown when the next day doesn’t match or exceed the productive day. Perhaps that’s something we should note about weariness. It’s not just tiredness. There’s a sense of disappointment. We’re not living up to our expectations. Trying harder just isn’t doing it. Sleep doesn’t really fix it. I don’t find anything online that agrees with me but I suspect that weariness, especially prolonged weariness, is a symptom of burnout unless one learns to wait.

            According to one source, “burnout” involves spinning your tires and going nowhere – but creating the sort of friction that can destroy those tires. That’s sort of what happens if we don’t wait. If we keep trying to do everything without waiting for God, we’re spinning our wheels. I didn’t invent the metaphor, but it works.  If we do it hard enough or for long enough, we’ll be unable to move because our tires will be tattered. And then we’ll have no choice but to wait until God gives us the mental and physical health we have lost.

            I suspect it’s better if we wait by choice than by necessity.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more