God's Strength When You're Emotionally Drained - July 28th
God’s Strength When You’re Emotionally Drained: Your Nightly Prayer
by Amanda Idleman
TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” - Isaiah 40:29
SOMETHING TO PONDER
A calming devotional for anyone feeling emotionally depleted at the end of a summer day. This year has been depleting for me. My mind, body, and soul are tired in ways I can’t even quite articulate. Maybe you are feeling the same way.
We are foster parents, and we started this year welcoming a medically complicated infant into our home. We’ve endured months of sleepless nights as she ate hourly to make up for the weight not gained after her long stay in the NICU. Our hearts have been broken for her plight, and our souls challenged to follow God’s call to love others as he loves us when we’ve been invited to build a relationship with her birth parents, the very ones who made the choices that led to this challenging scenario.
As the summer has started, so has an endless parade of doctor appointments, hospital stays, therapies, and more. Only two weeks into the summer break, and my mind is melting as I try to navigate the matrix of managing the needs of the six children in our home. I am tired, and what is even harder than the physical demands of this role is the emotional toll of living in a season of vulnerable uncertainty.
Living in a season of uncertainty for any reason is emotionally draining. Maybe you're unsure how a diagnosis will impact your future, if that pregnancy test will ever show a positive, if you’ll get the job you hope for, if the adoption will move forward, if your marriage will make it past the struggle you're facing, if you’ll ever really break free from addiction, and on the list goes.
The beautiful thing is that in these uncertain, emotionally draining places, we can see God’s power and strength at work in us. I’ve lived through this miracle of God's strength this year, and it is the only way I’ll be able to make it through this wild summer of endless appointments and managing the varied needs of all my children. His strength is enough for us; through him, you can move forward even on your most tired day.
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
God,
I thank you that you are the God who sees me. You see the burdens I’ve been carrying. You know I need your strength to make it through to the future you have planned for me. God, in my weakness, give me strength. When I’m ready to give up, remind me that I am not alone. Show me your way forward. Renew my mind when it is clouded by fear and doubt. Go before me this summer.
Amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
1. Consider the ways God did more than what is logically possible through the great heroes of faith from the Bible. How did he show up for Moses? For David? Daniel? Paul? He did it for them and can do it again for you!
2. What thoughts are clouding the way you are viewing the future? Take time imagining God coming through for you rather than imagining how things might go wrong.
3. How can you invest in your emotional health over the summer? Prioritize these things so you can love your people well over the next few months.
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/ Adrian Swancar
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