When you're feeling worn out

I’ve just spent the last hour chasing balls down the street while my two youngest play outside. That’s after a long day at work in a week filled with twists and turns. I could go on with a list of all the reasons I feel worn out—but I won’t because we all have those kinds of lists. Plus that would be lame.

The point is, we all get tired. We all get fatigued. We all have a time when we wonder if we can keep doing that which God called us to do. We may feel like giving up.

The older I become, the more encouraged I am by the words of Isaiah the prophet who said that “even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength” (Is. 40:30-31a). It’s comforting to realize that God is the one who gives us the strength we need to continue. It is he who sustains us. Our part of the equation is clear: hope. We hope in the Lord for his future, his providence, his will to be done.

I picture hope as a person smiling on the inside. She may be worn out and ready to give up on the outside, but inside is a deep-seeded contentment because of the One she trusts. He might be ready to call it quits, but he doesn’t, because inwardly he believes that God will finish the good work he started.

We have seen a number of celebrity pastors recently calling it quits on church ministry to go on to something different. I would not be the one to judge their motives. However I do wonder if any of them simply got worn out. Church work is tough business. I came across this anonymous quote recently: “Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working.” I suspect the same is true in the local church.

So no matter who you are or what your situation is, hang in there. And if you need more strength, remember the prescription is hope.