I think by now we are all a little tired of this…
Being stuck at home, trying to find creative ways to function virtually in ways we used to be able to in person. Learning how to live in our new, confined reality while we wait to go back to reality as it once was. Much creativity and many endearing stories have emerged out of this time, but we still ache to be back with our people, our communities, our normal rhythms.
What do we do when we become weary in the waiting?
The beginning of a crisis is always exciting and dramatic- devastating, yes, but exciting nonetheless. We were on the edge of our seats attached to the news; new information was coming out every five minutes and things were rapidly evolving and changing. We waited in suspense and perhaps deep fear and anxiety to hear what our new reality was going to be like.
And then the new normal set in. Some of us have suffered greatly. Others have had to adjust but been relatively unharmed emotionally, financially, and physically. All of us have had to re-prioritize and come to terms with the state of our world.
It’s not over yet. It may not be for a long time. And we have to learn where to go when we become weary:
He gives strength to the weary
Isaiah 40:29-31
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall; 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.
I have found the book of Isaiah to be incredibly encouraging during this time, especially the later chapters. It is full of God’s promises to His weary people- people that have been severely afflicted and are waiting to be delivered. People who want to skip to the part where everything is okay again, to the land of milk and honey and restored relationship with their Creator. People who don’t like the in-between or uncertainty. People like us.
I think we all want some restoration and revival. We are tired of death, mourning, and sadness. We are tired of bad news. We are tired of wandering in the desert with no foreseeable end.
But God promises to sustain us in this season. We can’t begin to try to understand why He’s allowed this to happen, but we can trust that there is a bigger plan at hand, and He has bigger purposes for our lives and the world than what we are able to see now. We can let him refresh us and restore us in this day, so we can move forward in His strength and not our own, and continue to endure no matter what comes next.
I know I need this refreshment. I can’t get through another minute of this without it, without Him. I know He is calling me to Himself, to deeper relationship and intimacy than I’ve known before. I want to distract myself from all the pain but He is asking me to face it and walk with Him through it. And He enables me to do so.
We can keep going because He walks with us. He knows pain, grief, and suffering. He knows boredom, weariness, and numbness. He knows our hearts. And He is not going to let us fall.
rhythms of grace 