November 6

Day 237: Fatigue and Refreshment

I've heard recently from some that they are in another season of fatigue. Fatigued by Zoom. Fatigued by confinement and isolation and quarantine. Fatigued with trying to negotiate and navigate the immediate future and upcoming holiday season.

Even the intrigue of election season has left some of us fatigued in its aftermath. And we haven't even mentioned parents who are continuing to homeschool their children against their wishes. It's been a rough year, everyone will agree.

Some will attempt to recover via more sleep. Others will implement more play time. Or more Netflix. But having done any of this in the past teaches us these are not long term fixes. We need more. We need better.

Isaiah 44:2-3 gives us a promise of relief. "Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. For I will pour out water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants."

This is given to a fatigued people. The nation of Israel had not had much good news in their generation. They were beat up, discouraged, and spiritually dry.

So often, you and I know when we're dried up. But we don't often drill down enough to know the ultimate why. We want to think it's all limited to our circumstances. But the God who made us knows the root cause of our fatigue, and our dry season.

We forget. And when we do finally remember, we can't fix it on our own. We need help. We require outside intervention. A transfusion of new life into our veins.

Psalm 51 is a psalm of repentance. But the line that captures the essence and the gist of the psalm is this: "Restore to my the joy of my salvation."

Our Bibles don't tell us that we will never feel like a dry and thirsty land. But it does tell us that refreshment can and will come. Not from ourselves. But from the Spirit of the living God, reactivating our souls to remember again who we are in Jesus.

Like wave after wave of cool, refreshing water. Water that restores. We need, and ultimately want to be restored to joy. Joy in our salvation. Who God is and what He has done.

Isaiah 44 tells us that we were chosen. The Father chose us, and gave us to His Son, and gave us His Spirit. The same Spirit who is ready to refresh us and restore us.

We're all aware of our circumstances, our unknowns, even our fears for the future. We more readily pray for those things.

Perhaps we should make primary a new and fresh round of prayer for our own joy; joy in who we now are in Christ Jesus.

Joy in our salvation. Circumventing fatigue. Receiving refreshment.

-Mike Rydman, Lead Pastor, Radiant Church Juneau