Tag Archives: Fatigue

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He Gives Strength

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“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired.  His understanding is inscrutable.  He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power.” Isaiah 40:28-29

Tasks that I wanted to complete yesterday, or at least start in a substantial way, got transferred to today as I just couldn’t function anymore.  Acknowledging my weakness, I went to bed in an attempt to get rested and start early today.  That didn’t happen either as my body demanded more rest than I had allotted time for.  Needless to say, I have felt that I was behind and thoroughly depleted all day.  Strength is one of those things that we take for granted when we have it, but causes great frustration when it’s lacking.  However it’s not just physical strength…sometimes we need the strength meet a need or change a habit or maybe we need the spiritual strength to live the life to which God has called us.  Whether we are trying to live a life that honors our Lord, overcome a challenge in our life, or just get through the day, strength is often a pivotal factor that determines how successful we are.

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Hide and Seek

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They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.  Genesis 3:8

Sometimes when our grandsons come to our house, they like to play hide and seek.  It is such a different game than when I was a kid.  As children, they have not yet learned how many clues they may give away in the process of hiding nor have they learned to listen for clues that I may offer.  As an adult, I’ve learned to listen for those clues.  Fairly certain of their hiding places, I usually take extra the time to “search” rather than going directly to them which allows for more enjoyment of the game on their part.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, I believe that we often try to hide from God.  Three common reasons we do this are: like Adam and Eve, it may be due to sin; there may be trials in our lives that cause us to doubt God’s goodness and love for us; or it may be as simple as lack of engagement in our spiritual life.  Pulling away from God is exactly where Satan wants us as it leaves us open to temptation.  Through his lies, he seeks to either turn us from God or at least immobilize us and lose our passion for God and engaging in the work that Lord may have planned for us.

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Dry Bones

Revival

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“‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life.  I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”  Ezekiel 37:4-6

Most mornings, the pain in my body wakes me before the alarm goes off.  Laying there a bit irritated that my body has deprived me of sleep, the morning inventory and ponderings begin.  How much pain is there and is it the kind can it be ignored?  How much energy is available and will it improve as I start moving or quickly fade?  How angry is my gut and how well will it cooperate with eating throughout the day?  What is planned for today and will it have to be adjusted due to the responses to the prior queries?  At best, I will encourage my body to get moving and function relatively normally (for me) throughout the day.  At worst, I’ll end up more like a slug accomplishing the bare minimum.  More often than not, it will be somewhere in the middle of the two.  Notice that there is no “This is the day which the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”, nor is there a mental or spiritual inventory.  In those early moments of the day, it’s usually all about the body.  Short sighted, focused and exhausting.  I long for days when I awaken refreshed and alive.  Whether or not one is ill, this life can be wearying.  Trials and illness most certainly sap the strength from us on every level encouraging us to withdraw and become self-focused.  However, jobs, family, relationships and social obligations are just as capable of draining us of physical, emotional and spiritual strength. Without attention to our souls, we become like the bones in Ezekiel’s vision: dried up, hopeless and cut off.  In those times it’s important to remember who we are, where our strength comes from and where or hope lies.

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What’s in a Word?

Willful or Persevering?

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Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:1-2

A couple of weeks ago I was traveling and stopped to get gas.  The screens on the gas pumps not only provided instructions, but also weather, news and entertainment.  As I pumped gas, the screen showed “the word of the day” and displayed the word “pertinacious”.  The definition that it provided was “willful” and the example of usage that it gave was “He became pertinacious in his old age.”  As I thought about this, I immediately thought about Solomon, Joash and Amaziah.  The connection came from a chart of the kings of Judah that I’ve been using to keep them straight.  These three are all listed as having done right in their youth and evil in their old age.  They started strong but their resolve waned as they aged.  As I investigated the meaning of the word further, I found that there are two very different meanings to the word.   The one that commonly comes up first is determination or perseverance.  However, it is the secondary definition that reflects willfulness.

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I Don’t Feel Like It

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 “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”  James 4:17

For those of us who live with chronic illness and/or pain, it’s often a real balancing act trying to figure out what we can or should do and what we need to avoid.  We must be careful not to exacerbate our problems by being reckless, but we don’t want to stop living either.  Unfortunately, too many times, it’s easy to avoid doing something we are called to by saying that we don’t feel up to it.  However, this isn’t just about our illness.  It goes much deeper to our attitude and what’s important to us.  Whether we are ill or not, we all face life’s challenges, physical limitations and mood swings.  Too often we find an excuse not to do something and that’s what James is referring to in this passage.  Today is one of those days for me.  I need to write to be faithful to God’s calling, but I don’t feel like rising to the occasion.  Between the weather changing and traveling over the weekend, my body has been crashing and I’m just worn out.  It’s not that I am unable to write, I would just rather not do anything…and there’s the rub.  I’m able but would rather not.  To write will not threaten my wellbeing or overall health so there really is no risk.  So here I am, writing, because it is the right thing to do.   In that light, let’s consider overcoming laziness, using discernment, facing risk, and looking for strength.

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Are You Immobilized?

Fear, Fatigue and Uncertainty

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I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.  He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord.  Psalm 40:1-3

In 1995 I had a grand mal seizure and was put on seizure medication without a thorough investigation of the circumstances.  We would learn later that I did not need it.  Problematically, if you take seizure medication and don’t need it, it can cause seizures.  Consequently, for the next nine years I endured petit mals or absence seizures.

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God is the Strength of My Heart

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My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Psalm 73:26

Strength is one of those things that waxes and wanes, varies from person to person and can be considered in terms of physical, mental and spiritual attributes.  No matter what aspect is being considered, at the core of this discussion we must remember that any form or degree of strength that we have is provided and sustained by our Heavenly Father in Christ.  

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