Towards Strength

The novelty and excitement has already worn off. It didn't last long.

Working 9 to 5 is exhausting.

College didn't prepare me to work 9 to 5. For the last four years, I've basically been able to set my own schedule and do a lot of work from my bed. I didn't have to go out into the world or interact with people unless I really wanted to. I came home and could hide in my room or interact with one of my two apartment-mates.

But for the last two weeks, I've had to leave my house by 8:30am, not to arrive home until 5:30 or 6pm. I spend the whole day in an office, calling people, answering phone calls, talking with my coworkers, talking with the residents. I like the work that I do, but as an introvert, it's exhausting. Then I come home to a house full of people, who I also want to catch up with to care for the house community. And this weekend, I don't even have Saturday off because we have our monthly community day.

I want to pour into my work community, my house community, the NOLA community. But I have limited hours and limited energy reserve.

And that's not even considering doing my laundry or responding to emails or staying in touch with the people that I don't see face-to-face.

I'm exhausted and looking into the future, I only foresee more exhaustion. How can I live life THIS exhausted?

As this blog post was writing itself in my brain as I sat in rush hour traffic listening to a local jazz radio station, the Holy Spirit spoke to me, "The Lord is my strength."

How many Bible verses are about people who are exhausted and discouraged and crying out to God that they need God's strength and God is saying, "You can't do it alone. But I will be your strength." I have the same struggles and cries of the Biblical men that we study and celebrate.

My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.
Psalm 119:28

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1

LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.
Isaiah 33:2

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:29-31

Does it make life easy? Absolutely not.

But it feels like my only option. I have to rely on God to give me the strength that I need to get through every day.

God's already built things into my life to help me through this exhausting life: each night Sarah and Davis and I sit on the couch together and debrief the day, we've gone out a couple times for snowballs and sunset on the lake, I go dancing and come back centered with my energy restored, there's an acupuncture lady who comes to work once a week and massages my knots with electricity, and I go to counseling to help me process.




How do you deal with the pressures of life and exhaustion?

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 20, 2019 at 11:42 AM

    I try to trust in the LORD.... When He gives me choices, I use the brain that He gave me to pick the simpler path. When He is calling me into pressure and exhaustion, I trust that He will give me the strength I need. When that strength is not the strength I want (and I'm weary), I look for Him to do something special.

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