Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:30-31
At this time of year, a lot is heading downward.
Leaves are falling. Temperatures are dipping. And with this coming Sunday’s time change, the sun will be setting a little earlier. For many, these changes bring about depression, lethargy, fatigue and other problems. In its most serious form, it adds up to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
But symptoms such as these don’t occur just in the fall or only at times when there is less sunlight. In their lesser form, these feelings can come about quite easily in day-to-day living.
Like when an unkind word from a co-worker crushes your spirit and sets the rest of the work day into a tailspin. Should you be surprised? Or when your best friend is the one who is getting married or having a baby or got a promotion. And you got . . . nothing.
Or perhaps you’ve said “yes” to organizing and leading every church committee, every parent-organized school event, the community Bible study and your neighborhood’s monthly block party. Your mind is mush, your body is shutting down and you have nothing left to give.
See? We can quickly sink to the depths of despair in our spirits or become quickly fatigued taking care of everything and everyone else and not ourselves. We’re tired and weary, stumbling and falling. And . . . we’re human, after all.
But thankfully, when we are feeling weighted down, the Lord will help us to soar. He is the one who raises us up. And not any twelve-step plan, self-help book or audio tape series. ——we must look to him and his Word first for direction in how we should live.
David was a man who understood this. Many passages in the book of Psalms read like his personal diary of sorts and record the times when he felt down and sought the Lord.
He had it right when he said in Psalm 62:5-8: “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times ye people, pour out y our heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
When we focus on our circumstances and on what is or isn’t happening in our lives, we will feel down. Like David, we need to go to the One who will lift us up. It is in God alone that we will rise above and find our rest.
What is bringing you down? Is the Lord asking you to make a change in your life? Is it time to simplify in some area? Take some time this weekend for quiet reflection and seek God’s direction for what He would have you do.(By Laura MacCorkle, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor)
