Finding God’s Strength In Our Fatigue of Illness
31 Jan 2011 5 Comments
in Devotionals2 Tags: christian encouragement, chronic illness, chronic pain, daily devotion for women, daily scripture readings and meditations, encouraging scriptures, finding bible scriptures, finding peace through trials scripture, free daily bread devotionals, free daily devotion, illness ministry, inspirational bible scriptures, inspirational poems and scriptures, inspirational stories, invisible illness, meditation, more daily devotionals via email, our daily bread devotion book, rest ministries, short inspirational devotionals
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
Have you ever been so tired that you did not even have the energy to watch TV? Think about that. How much energy could it require, and how much poor concentration is needed to sit in front of a TV set? Yet I’ve found myself even that exhausted, to the point of not enough energy for the mindless entertainment of television.
Sometimes God will speak to you in your spirit, just a small voice that you must listen closely to hear. Recently I was praying to God and saying, “Lord, today I need You to carry me for I have no strength.”
The Lord surprised me by responding, “I’ve been carrying you today and every day.”
I burst out laughing because it was so very true. God had been carrying me through the many days when I had no strength.
My “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” needs a name change to “Constant Fatigue Syndrome.” I’m continually exhausted and finding myself with no strength. Yet the Lord has helped me to somehow get through.
We each face diverse things. For me fatigue is a major issue, and for you it may be something completely different.
You may have plenty of energy but find yourself in a wheelchair or limited in movement by arthritis. We may need different kinds of rest and relief, but one Lord supplies all of our needs by His love and grace.
Today you may find yourself in dire need of God’s rest for your soul. Our Jesus is a living God. He is master of the universe and master of our lives. We each face much adversity, but we never face it alone. Turn to Him for rest for your weary soul.
Prayer: Dear Lord, when weariness saps at our will to go on, give us rest and strength to move forward again. Amen.
About The Author
Karlton Douglas lives in Ohio with his lovely wife. He has both Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Crohn’s Disease.
Jan 31, 2011 @ 18:08:29
Karlton – appreciated your thoughts here.
“His mercies are new every morning” and strength for the day is part of how I interpret that promise.
As I look back over all my years and the days I questioned if I could keep moving, I am very aware that I did!
God’s strength in our weakness – we become so aware that it is His.
Bless you!
Lynn
Jan 31, 2011 @ 20:56:30
Karlton, thanks for sharing this reminder – I think we sometimes lose sight of all the times that God has helped us through when we thought we couldn’t take any more. As Lynn said, He is the strength that shows up best in our weaknesses.
Bless you,
Fiona
Feb 01, 2011 @ 08:32:28
Thanks for your post. I am despairing with chronic fatigue and other ailments, unfortunately without much of a message of hope. I don’t seem to have access to the sense of being consciously helped by a Higher Power, so I am just hanging in there as best I can.
Again, many thanks,
Stan