Good morning my friend!
I hope you’re doing well. The great bird migration of 2024 continues, as our friends the Sandhill cranes have arrived (a little early) for their annual dance party in the hay field outside our house!
The flu bug landed on me this week. I missed a day of surgery and a day of clinic, so this coming week is going to be crazy as I try to catch up.
I have a short thought for you today. We’ve heard from so many folks on the prayer wall lately that they’re tired, overwhelmed, stressed, and wondering why everything seems so hard all the time.
Do you ever feel that way? Sometimes, we can feel so wounded that we don’t even think God would want to see us. We think we need to work harder, clean ourselves up, be better, pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, and it’s just not working. And the more we try, the worse we feel.
Surprisingly, scripture says that God doesn’t see it that way. He wants us to come to him IN our brokenness, and he makes an interesting promise in two separate places in the Bible about this:
“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” (Matthew 12:20, Jesus quoting Isaiah 40: 24)
Here we see Jesus promising that when we’re broken, bruised, and feel like the fire is dying out inside us, he stands ready to heal and repair, rekindle and reignite us. Then, in Isaiah 30, God gives us a prescription for what to do when we’re at our wit’s end: come to him to rest.
Check this out:
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength…” (Isaiah 30:15)
And then, in verse 18:
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
Interestingly, the words longs and wait here are two forms of the Hebrew word for HOPE! This word shows up all over the Old Testament, and carries a connotation of holding onto a rope, being bound up in expectation, almost like the rope is so tightly clung to that it pierces our hands. God is saying that HE waits for us to come to him, so that he can rise up and show us compassion! He’s not waiting to snuff you out, he’s longing to help you.
And that, my friend, is very good news if you’re tired of being so tired.
Today’s Spiritual Brain Surgery podcast is a deep dive into how to find this type of rest and connection. Check it out if you’re hurting.
Don’t forget that you can get the recent podcast archive with transcripts of all episodes by clicking the button below.
Look, friend: life can be hard. But it’s so, so, beautiful as well. Learning to trust and abide in the fact that you have a God who longs to help you when you’re hurting is a great way to change your mind.
And the good news is, you can start today.
Lisa and I are praying for you.
Lee
Psalm 71:14 ("As for me, I will always have hope.")
From the banks of the North Platte river on Moon River Ranch in Nebraska, USA
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Dr. Warren,
I am praying God gives you good rest on this Sabbath.
I am praying you, Lisa and Tata have a lovely day.
Thank you for these needed Scriptures.
So timely. Such a grace.
God bless each of you!!
Lola
Psalm 25