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There’s a word people sometimes use when they’re confronted with a problem or conflict right at the moment when they are tired. Have you heard someone respond with, “Whatever.” They’re just trying to dismiss what’s happened.
It may be a bad thought they’ve had and they want to get rid of it, or it’s a problem they just can’t deal with right then, or someone is putting a demand on them at a time when they don’t have enough mental or emotional or physical energy to handle it. So they want to dismiss it. They say, “Whatever.” They are to the point they don’t care what happens.
At times when I’m tired and don’t want to deal with something, if that word comes out of my mouth, I make sure that I add some words to the end of it. I say, “Whatever God wills.” That helps to change the meaning from “I don’t care what happens” to “I want the will of God to happen.”
I firmly believe that one of the times the devil comes to bring us down in our faith is when we have that kind of fatigue. So it’s important to endure in the fatigue. Even when we feel weak or weary or fed up, we can endure and hang on to our faith knowing that we will come out of that time. We keep our faith in what God can do to help us even if we feel tired or discouraged at the moment.
And hey, you’re not a weak person if you have fatigue. It comes to everyone. Even the prominent Bible people had times they were tired.
Moses got tired of trying to take care of the Israelites.
Paul got tired of the opposition he had wherever he went to preach.
Elijah had fatigue after he had a big showdown with the prophets of Baal and received a threatening note from the Queen.
Hannah got tired of praying to have a baby.
David became tired after being chased by King Saul everywhere he went. But God always ministered strength to them in that time and they were able to endure. They could endure in the fatigue by faith and that’s how they won victory.
Isaiah 40 promises that God gives power to the faint and weary. Can you raise your hand as being one of the faint and weary sometimes? But that scripture says He increases strength for the one who has no might, causing it to multiply and making it abound.
Even when young people faint and become weary or stumble and fall exhausted, those who have hope in God will have the power to endure. They’ll be raised up on wings and mount up as eagles. Run and not be weary. Walk and not faint or become tired. (Ref. Isaiah 40:29-31.) So when fatigue is setting in, believe for God to raise you up and help you endure. You can keep your faith in spite of the fatigue. You’ll still be standing when it’s over.
Romans chapter 5 tells us that we can triumph in our troubles. Why can we do that? Because those troubles produce endurance. And it’s endurance that will help us overcome those troubles. The pressure we’re feeling, the affliction, the hardship, those can produce endurance. Unswerving endurance.
Then! That scripture says endurance produces character and that produces hope. One version says it this way, it keeps us alert for whatever God will do next. (Ref. Romans 5:3, 4.) It gives new meaning to the phrase, “Whatever.” Our faith says, “I know God is doing something. Even though I’m tired of this going on, I can endure, because God is working.”
So your faith keeps you alert that something is about to happen. You don’t get tired of believing that God can do anything. You know He can. So you keep alert for what is coming. In spite of fatigue, your faith keeps that hope alive in you.
It’s our faith that helps us in the fatigue. When we feel we can’t do anything else, we can believe. In spite of fatigue, your faith will rise to the top and keep you there. You won’t go down. You may feel down but you won’t go there. Instead, you will be standing because you endured in the fatigue.
That means you will get the problem solved, that desire fulfilled, you’ll find a path to complete what must be done. You don’t see it now but improvement and victory and success are ahead of you. Keep faith in what God will do even when you’re tired. Still be standing when it’s over.
A Spiritual Powerline to say out loud:
“GOD IS DOING SOMETHING FOR ME NOW!”
Here is a powerful prayer to say out loud:
Lord, I can endure because of the strength You are giving me. I am staying alert for whatever You are doing next. I refuse to fall to doubt or discouragement. I’m standing in my faith until I see my victory, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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